


Into the Dark

by beyond_this_illusion



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Arranged Marriage?, Beauty and the Beast undertones, F/M, Hades/Persephone Undertones, Reylo - Freeform, Victorian era, based on a book
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2018-07-11 22:18:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7072714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyond_this_illusion/pseuds/beyond_this_illusion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was said that Force users were nothing more than myths used to frighten young children into behaving.  Tales of hidden communities and abducted brides were designed to deter youth from making ill choices.  Rey Kenobi thought nothing of the stories, too concerned with her newly inherited estate from her grandfather.  Unbeknownst to her, the stories were true.  Even worse, she managed to catch the eye of the Emperor.</p><p>Based on Clare B. Dunkle's "The Hollow Kingdom".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue/1

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not abandoning "Uneasy", but this idea has been nagging me for a while. For those that haven't read Dunkle's YA novel I highly suggest it! This fic will not be updated as consistently as "Uneasy" as it'll be secondary to the other fic, but I'm still rather excited about where this will take us.
> 
> I deliberated between using the Regency Period in which the book is set versus trying to adapt it to fit space but, apparently I'm too much of historical AU trash to do that. 
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

 

Once there existed great users of strange magic.  These wielders could shift and shape the ‘Force’ to their will. Some sought to use their mystical abilities for good and the protection of those that could not defend themselves.  Others chose to seek personal gain and power at the expense of others.  Factions formed through the centuries: Jedi and Sith.  Jedi embraced the Light while suppressing negative emotions and attachments.  The Sith basked in the Dark, letting hate and anger rule their every move.  

 

Years of war reduced the population of Force users to a fraction of their once proud numbers.  With their population weakened, civilians banded together to eradicate the Force users for good in retribution for the wars their kind had wrought upon humanity.  

 

Those that remained hid their abilities to survive.  Some retreated to secret dwellings while others chose to live among the general population.  Force users that entered the world of ‘muns’, civilians, shirked their abilities in favor of normality.  Those that lived in secrecy openly practiced their gifts in an effort to keep their dying culture aloft. Sith and Jedi were forced to work together for survival, creating the Gray.

 

Five hundred years passed and the Force users became nothing more than myths and legends.  

 

Or so it was thought.

 

**

“Padmé ,  are you sure you don’t want Darred to walk you home?  It’s getting dark and I want you to be safe.”

 

“I’ll be fine, Sola, really.  If I cut through the field I’ll halve the time it takes to get home,” Padmé insisted as she twitched up the hood of her cloak.  The young woman was nothing if not determined.  Just entering her twenties, Padmé Naberrie was a force to be reckoned with.  She was involved in many societies in town centered on bettering the lives of the people of Naboo.  Her latest project involved petitioning the government for female suffrage, much to the chagrin of some of her elderly neighbors. “I’ll tell mother that the new baby is doing well.  As soon as her catarrh subsides she’ll be here to see her newest granddaughter.”

 

The elder sister couldn’t help but smile at the idea of her mother meeting her latest little one.  Unable to attend the birth due to sickness, Jobal sent Padmé in her stead to help her daughter through her second labor.  After a week at her sister’s side Padmé was preparing to return home.

 

“I just worry-” Sola began only to be cut off by a head shake from her sister.

 

“What could happen?  I’ll run across one of the Gray?”  Padmé asked, a teasing twinkle in her eye.  

 

Sola made a noise of derision as she followed her sister into the front yard of the modest farmhouse she and her husband owned.  “Old Breha used to frighten us terribly, remember?  I’m more than certain she believed every word of her tales,” she recalled, tucking her shawl a bit tighter around her shoulders.

 

“The Gray are nothing more than myths,” Padmé reminded her with a roll of her eyes.  

 

“Those girls-”

 

“-ran away and disgraced their families,” Padmé interrupted her sister’s comment.  Over the years a handful of neighboring young women disappeared, most likely having run off with lovers or deserted their families.  Blaming the Gray was used as something of an euphemism.  “Old Breha loved sherry even more than she loved her stories,” she said with a chuckle.  “I’m sure alcohol aided her in making her tales even more frightening to us as children.”  The widow in town often regaled children of the myth of the Gray and their antics.  It was said that the leader of the Gray, their emperor, encouraged his subjects to take human girls to wife to diversify their dwindling population.  It was nothing more than a story to frighten girls into staying indoors at night and not gallivanting at the tavern to protect their virtue.  At least, that was what Padmé figured.

 

Sola laughed nervously with her sister, supposing she had a point.  She enfolded her sister into her arms before letting her go.  “Thank you for all your help, Padmé.  I’ll return the favor when it’s your turn, I promise.”

 

Padmé chuckled at the assurance.  “I’ll hold you to it,” she teased as she turned down the path leading to the road. Sola waited at the door to the farmhouse till she could no longer spot her sister in the dimming light.

 

It was the last time anyone saw Padmé Naberrie.

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your kind comments and kudos! I'm really excited about this fic though I haven't had much time lately to write. Like "Uneasy" I'll be trying to use references from the Star Wars universe whenever possible. Stewjon, for example, is the name of the Kenobi estate as it is credited with being Obi-Wan's home planet. It's the same reason I used it for the name of the dukedom in "Uneasy".
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

The carriage jolted as it rolled over a particularly deep crevice in the dirt road, nearly sending her sprawling into the elderly man’s lap. Rey Kenobi gripped onto the window ledge to avoid such an embarrassing display. The white haired man sitting across from her on the carriage’s other plush lined seat seemed nonplussed by the bumpy terrain they were traversing.

“The roads in the South aren’t nearly as even as the roads in Theed,” the man explained as they hit yet another hole. “Though even those aren’t spectacular in certain areas, as I’m sure you’re well aware.”

The nineteen year old gave a nod in response to the comment, unsure of what to say in response. She was still wary about the old adventurer who’d turned up on her employer’s doorstep one day and declared her the missing granddaughter of his closest friend. After years of believing herself to be someone of no importance she found it difficult to wrap her head around the fact that she was an heiress. 

Oh, if only the other maids could see her now!

Gone were her drab clothing of brown calico and yellowed linen; in their place were silks, satins, and fine muslins. The sudden change in her life was enough to make her head spin, even after two weeks of knowing the truth. Years of being simply Rey hadn’t kept her from hoping that her family would come back to her. She remembered only faintly her mother holding her close and shielding her from the rain, or her father’s bright smile.

What she could remember far more clearly was the ever present stink that emanated from Unkar Plutt and the leers he would deliver from cold eyes set in a pudgy face. Rey repressed a shiver at the memory of her former employer, knowing well enough that she would never have to see the sorry excuse for a man ever again. She was a lady of means now, having inherited an estate, wealth, and surname. 

Hazel eyes swiveled from Lor to the carriage window as curiosity outweighed her desire to stay focused on keeping upright in her seat. She’d lived in Theed for as long as she could remember and wasn’t sure how she would adapt to the quiet town of Moenia. Though her education was lacking, she did know that Naboo was a rather substantially sized country consisting of various cities and counties. Moenia was located in the southern portion of the country in the Paitnnu Wetlands, at least a three day ride from the capital of Theed. To the east of the town lay swampland while to the west ran a vein of the Solleu River; the waterway Theed had been established along. 

The closer they traveled to Moenia the more she observed a smoky quality to the air. “The fog looks dense, does it not?” she voiced to her traveling companion after nearly a quarter of an hour of silence. She was certain that if she was to step out of the carriage she would be hard pressed to see more than a handful of yards in front of her.

“I’m sure you’re accustomed to it from the Solleu?” Lor questioned, earning an unladylike shrug from Rey. “It may be more pronounced here, due to the river and swamplands nearby. I assure you Moenia is quite liveable; your family has lived at Stewjon for generations.”

Rey perked up with inquisitiveness at the mention of her inherited estate. She used to share a cramped room in Plutt’s inn, paying him nearly as much as he gave her in wages for a roof over her head and meager meals. All three maidservants lived in the same room above the kitchen until Meera married the shoemaker’s son three streets over, leaving Rey and Farra to share the lodging. Having an estate- an expansive home with sprawling lands- would make her feel like a pebble in sand. Had it not been for Lor and his generosity in loaning her funds, Rey would be showing up to her ancestral home with a rucksack filled with stained clothing and the few worn books that she owned. The two trunks of new clothing and belongings strapped to the back of the carriage would barely fill any of the rooms of her new home, from what she gleamed of Lor’s telling of Stewjon.

The carriage turned off the main road, skirting the town of Moenia to steer down an offshoot path. Rey lost track of time, so engrossed in staring at the foliage outside of the carriage window, and was somewhat startled as a result of the carriage rolling to a stop. She felt her cheeks flush at her stupidity though the elderly man did not comment on her reaction.

The carriage door was opened for them both by the footman who’d been riding in the front of the carriage with the driver. Rey nimbly took his offered hand thought she felt she needed no assistance in alighting from the carriage. It was the proper thing to do; she’d seen wealthy ladies in the city act in such a way.

The sight of the towering building, partially obscured by fog, took her breath away. Two floors of stone and more glittering windows than she could count met her amazed expression. She realized only too late that not only was she staring, but the staff of the manor had trotted outside to be presented to her. While fighting an intensified blush Rey allowed Lor to take her arm and lead her along the double rows of staff. 

The impeccably clad household servants standing alongside the slightly shabbier dressed outdoor servants kept their heads bowed as she passed by. Rey felt as if she was walking in a dream rather than reality for she’d been one of their rank for nearly all her life. A hysterical laugh bubbled up her throat at the absurdity of it all. She successfully stifled it, with considerable effort, to not appear to her new staff as if she was losing her mind.

To be fair, maybe she was after all that had happened in such a short while.

Lor paused before a man and woman standing at the base of the steps leading up to the door. The pair couldn’t have been a more mismatched duo if they’d tried. The aged woman seemed to be just under five feet tall. White hair was pulled back sharply into a stiff bun at the nape of her neck, giving her a sense of austerity. The heavy chatelaine clipped to her hips made Rey realize that the woman must be her housekeeper. By default it could be assumed that the man beside the housekeeper was the estate’s butler. Where the woman was short, the man was irrationally tall. Rey was taller than the average woman yet the man seemed to tower over her. His shoulders were broad and strong looking, even though he was as aged as the woman beside him.

“Welcome, Miss. Kenobi,” the woman spoke, bowing her head slightly in deference. Despite her elderly appearance she moved down the few steps with ease. She dipped in a slight curtsy to the young woman. “My name is Mrs. Kanata. I’ve been the late Mr. Kenobi’s housekeeper for the past forty years.” 

Rey nodded her head in understanding as she was unsure exactly what the proper protocol was for greeting one’s housekeeper. She pondered how obviously out of place she must seem to the staff who’d served her grandfather. 

“And this is my husband, Mr. Kanata,” the housekeeper introduced the impossibly tall man at her side. He bowed at the waist and spoke a garbled greeting. 

Rey’s eyes widened considerably as she recognized the gruff accent. “You’re from Kashyyyk, aren’t you?” she inquired excitedly. A group of merchants from the far off country frequented Plutt’s inn whenever they were in Theed on business. She picked up some of their language, always having had a knack for learning new dialects. Eager to put her skills to the test, she uttered a brief phrase of greeting.

The man’s face seemed to light up as bright as a candle at hearing his mother tongue being spoken. He responded in kind, bowing once more in respect. A whisper behind her back reminded her that she was before strangers and that, apparently, proper protocol didn’t allow for such familiarity. Her cheeks flooded scarlet as the whispering pair of servants was hushed by a strict look from Mrs.Kanata. 

“Your room has been prepared for you, Mr. San Tekka,” the housekeeper said, continuing as if no breach of etiquette had occurred. She gave a curt nod to one of the men who stepped forward to take the man’s bag from the coach. He requested the elderly man follow him into the house.

Rey watched the adventurer leave while trying not to feel anxious. She didn’t know him very well, yet she knew him far better than any of those standing about her. “I’ll show you to your room so that you may rest from the road, Miss. Kenobi,” Mrs. Kanta added. “When you’ve rested I’ll tour you around your new home.” The motherly smile that lifted the woman’s withered face helped alleviate some of the tension in Rey’s shoulders.

The brunette followed Mrs. Kanta into the house while a group of uniformed men took her trunks up the stairs. Gaping like a fish proved difficult not to do as Rey took in her surroundings while she was led by the housekeeper. Everything from the velvet curtains to the polished floors screamed of wealth. As of yet she’d refrained from asking Lor exactly how much money she was left by her grandfather, being his only descendant. Her estimated figure rose dramatically as she was further awed during the brief walk to her bedroom. 

“We can make adjustments in decor once you’ve settled in,” Mrs. Kanta said as she unlocked the door to the room with a key from her chatelaine. “And of course I’ll have a set of keys made for you as soon as possible.”

Stepping inside the bedroom Rey was struck with the realization that it was hers. A whole room, only for herself. The room she’d shared at Plutt’s could fit at least three times over within her new room. An expansive bed sat at the far end of the room near an empty fireplace. Polished furniture, arranged around the chamber, gave them room substance though it looked far from crowded.

Mrs. Kanata’s tutting broke Rey from her perusal of the room. “I’ll have an appointment set for you with the seamstress in town,” she said, looking upon the array of clothing with disapproval. “This is hardly enough.” The five dresses, three nightgowns, shifts, gloves, cloak, underclothes, and additional pair of shoes were by far the most clothing Rey ever owned. She merely blinked in the wake of Mrs. Kanata’s disappointment, unsure of what to say. 

She wondered when she would stop feeling incredibly out of place.

\--

Her mind was uneasy that evening and refused to allow her a moment of rest. Ensconced in her new bed-piled high with embroidered pillows and heavy blankets- Rey found it impossible to be comfortable. Her lumpy mattress at Plutt’s was the least comfortable surface she’d ever slept on but it was all she’d known for years. The luxuriousness of her feather bed was nearly painful.

Tired of rolling from side to side, Rey rose from the offending bed. Barefoot, she padded across the room to her bedroom door. She winced as she slowly pried it open, fearing it would make such a noise that the servants on the floor above would hear. Thankfully no noise was made and thus no one was the wiser. Rey crossed her arms before her chest as she walked down the hall, past a row of paintings of Kenobi ancestors. She paused for a moment to look over them while feeling their frozen eyes on her. Would they disapprove, knowing that she was now heir to their vast estate and fortune? Her; a maid and orphan? Fighting a shiver she continued onto the kitchen in the hopes of retrieving a cup of water to help her sleep.

She nearly was turned around twice by her confusion over the layout of the house before recalling where the location to the kitchen was. Rey had done her best to commit the location of the various rooms Mrs. Kanata showed her before supper to memory although it was proving difficult to recall in the dim lighting. Had it not been for the light of the full moon beyond the windows she would’ve been treading around in the dark.  
Rey procured a cup from one of the cupboards after scavenging through them. Once she filled it she began the journey back to her room. On her way she halted by one of the windows lining the corridor leading to her room. From her current height she could see the forest she’d traveled through that afternoon. The expanse of green stirred a delight within her, making her itch to go explore it. Theed was a beautiful city, known for its waterfalls and palace, yet it was astonishingly cramped. Buildings nearly piled on one another in order to cram in all its citizens. Nothing like the wildness of the area surrounding Stewjon existed in Theed, especially the poor eastern portion she’d lived in.

Eyes trained on the forest line, it was impossible not to notice a flash of red off in the distance. Her eyes narrowed, squinting to get a better look. For a moment she thought it to be a flash of fire for the way the color seemed to crackle. Yet as quickly as she saw the odd light it was extinguished. 

“Miss. Kenobi, is everything alright?”

Rey dropped the cup in her hand, sending the glass to the floor. Water sloshed over her bare feet while shards of glass scattered across the floor.

“I’m sorry!” she hastily apologized, kneeling to gather up the pieces of shattered glass. A wrinkled hand was placed over her’s as Mrs. Kanata silently urged her to cease her hurried tidying.

“Why don’t you go back to bed, Miss. Kenobi. I’ll take care of this and bring you pitcher of water, hmm?” the housekeeper suggested, earning an bashful nod from Rey. She didn’t seem at all irate that Rey made a mess in the middle of the night that she was now obliged to take care of. 

Mrs. Kanata nodded in the direction of Rey’s room to encourage her to go toward it. She hurried down the hall to obey, forgetting about the mysterious light.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments and kudos make me so excited! I'm so glad so many of your are enjoying this. Your feedback really helped me to finish up this chapter quicker than I expected.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr at beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Rey often found herself daydreaming during rare moments of idleness. Whenever she would venture into the street market a few blocks over, the one facing the Solleu River that the wealthy enjoyed boating upon in the warmer months, she would people watch. Having no history of her own left her to create stories for the strangers she came across on her daily errands. One of her favorite sorts of people to imagine stories for were the well-off ladies and gentlemen. Their lives were the exact opposite of her own which made them all the more fascinating. 

She imagined a lady of substance would live a life of utmost leisure. They would lounge about all day before spending their nights dancing and cavorting with the other snub nosed elite. Rey couldn’t have been more wrong.

Her day started at seven in the morning when she was woken by one of the maids. The servant would then aid her in her daily toilette before escorting her to breakfast at eight. For the first time in her life Rey had more than enough to eat. Her table manners were sorely lacking though the staff waiting along the walls of the dining room were too disciplined to chuckle or make comments behind their hands. If anything they were fascinated by the long lost grandchild of their beloved former employer. 

The rest of her day was filled with lessons of various sorts to bolster her meager education. A woman of her social and economic standing should be able to perform a multitude of tasks that were missing from Rey’s repertoire, or so Mrs. Kanata said. Mornings were generally reserved for etiquette, dancing, reading, and writing. Having been introduced to poetry during one of the earliest lessons at Stewjon, Rey became infatuated with the genre. Despite her overall fatigue, at the end of each night she always made time for at least a few pages of reading before bed.

Shortly after noon she would learn of the running of the estate and practice her needlework. She’d only ever sewn for practical reasons, such as creating or mending clothing. Embroidering with precious silk for fun seemed wholly impractical though she didn’t voice her opinion in fear of insulting Mrs. Kanata, who took to overseeing such domestic lessons. 

Her favorite part of the day took place right after tea when she would be shown to the stables to take riding lessons. Her family’s fortune came from the breeding and selling of horses, spanning three generations. Her grandfather had been involved in the business up until his last day, even going as far as scribbling in his account books hours before he entered the sleep that ended his life. 

Rey knew the very basics of riding from the few times she’d taken Plutt’s haggard mare to the opposite side of Theed for errands, though her skills were nowhere near what a woman of her standing should have. Poe Dameron, the manager of her grandfather’s vast stables, was personally entrusted with teaching her to ride. 

“His name is BB-8,” the dark haired man explained two days after her arrival at Stewjon. He referred to the light chestnut colored gelding that he lead by its reins. “He’s a good boy; his disposition will suit you.”

Rey furrowed her brow as she shifted her footing awkwardly, feeling out of place in the expensive riding habit. She supposed she would simply don a pair of breeches and a nondescript shirt to ride though one of the maids had wrangled her into the riding dress. The brunette wasn’t sure who she meant to impress as heiress to the Kenboi fortune by being outfitted so in her own stable. “That’s a peculiar name,” she commented while approaching the animal. He huffed into her open palm, breath tickling her skin. Rey moved her hand up to the horse’s face to rub gently at the white blaze.

“His sire was ‘BB’ for short, and his mother ‘8’,” Poe explained though it only served to confuse Rey further; the business of horse breeding was something she would have to get used to. Once seated on the animal she found Poe’s evaluation to be true. BB-8 was a gentle and tolerant animal, putting up with her mistakes with no complaints. 

By the end of her third month at Stewjon she was riding infinitely better, able to canter and even vault over small bales of hay. 

“You’ve come a long way, Rey,” Poe commented during an evening ride. She’d taken to requesting that he call her by her first name, and he concluded that she must do the same for him. With everyone treating her with more formality than she was used to Rey couldn’t avoid feeling chafed at the estate. Poe, at least, didn’t make her feel uncomfortable by insisting on the strictest formality. “You’ll be ready for the next Season in no time.”

Rey pulled an undistinguished face at the mention of her debut into the high society of Theed nearly six months from then. It would be especially odd to return to the city in which she’d lived her entire life a completely different person than when she’d left. “The purpose of debuting is to find a spouse,” she grumbled as the pair turned down the misty path back toward the estate. Supper would be served soon and she was required to change out of her riding dress and into something more suitable. 

“I’ll just be getting used to all this,” she said with a flourish of a hand, “and everything will change again. I don’t want to go back to Theed.” 

“It’ll be different this time, though,” Poe reminded her, nudging his horse towards hers to bump his leg with hers. It was an overly familiar gesture though she counted Poe as her only friend at the estate. She grinned widely at his teasing, effectively being cheered as was his intention.

“And you don’t have to be married right away,” he added. “You can debut, dazzle all the wealthy bachelors ,and then hightail it back here for the rest of the year.” 

She laughed which caused BB-8’s ears to twitch in recognition of his rider’s voice. “Dazzle them,” she repeated with a giggle. She never thought herself the type of make a match because she was a good ‘catch’. Her money would speak for whatever she was lacking in looks or etiquette, though she didn’t want to be married to someone only looking for her inheritance. She didn’t want to be married at all, if she was honest. Any thoughts of marriage or debuting were wiped away as Poe offered to race her back to the stables, the loser being the one to untack both steeds.

\--  
So used to her nearly daily rides with Poe, Rey was abashed to remember that he actually had work to do. When she made her way to the stables as usual one evening it was to find that he’d been called away to one of the farms east of town to help in the delivery of a foal. The mare was delivering earlier than intended and there was a smidgen of hope to save either animal, from what one of the harried grooms told her. Seeing no reason not to ride out as usual, she requested BB-8 be tacked.

“Is it wise to go off alone, miss?” the groom asked, his facial expression betraying his indecision over questioning his mistress and caring for her safety. 

“I won’t be gone long,” she assured him which was enough to send him off to fetch the horse. 

Rey took the usual path she and Poe used each evening though it felt somewhat odd to be off on her own. Having been surrounded by others for months, Rey couldn’t help but feel liberated by being by herself. The fog rolling in from the swamps grew thicker the further she rode from the estate though it didn’t stop her from steering into the meadow Poe showed her a few weeks back. She took joy in jumping BB-8 over logs before she grew tired and breathless, leading her to direct him back toward the path.

“Kriff,” she mumbled the unladylike word beneath her breath, taking in her surroundings after another fifteen minutes on the trail. She must’ve made a wrong turn off the path. BB-8 shifted his footing beneath her while awaiting her direction. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she surveyed their prospects. She could turn around and try to pick her way back to the meadow where she could then try to find the path she’d taken before. Or, she could attempt to find the main road into town and ask for directions there. 

She turned the horse around on his haunches to face the way she’d come; she’d take her chances getting back to the meadow. They traveled for at least ten minutes when BB-8 stumbled. Rey nearly fell onto his neck, not expecting the trip, but managed to right herself at the last moment. She patted him gently before dismounting to investigate the cause of his misstep. Further inspection led her to the discovery of a large stone wedged within one of BB-8’s hooves.

“Shh,” she murmured to the gelding who leaned his great weight against her. She grit her teeth and tugged on the stone to release it. Once free in her hand she hefted it into the fog. Though her knowledge of horses was limited, it appeared that BB-8 wouldn’t be able to make the trip back with her added weight. She would have to walk him, if his reluctance to place much weight on his front left hoof was any indication of his inability to have her ride him.

“Well, let’s go then,” Rey said, speaking more to herself than to the horse. Her gloved hands reached for the reins and brought them over his head in order to better lead him down the path. Her mind spun as she tried to picture an outcome where both she and the horse managed to get to Stewjon before the sun came up. Surely, as lady of the estate, someone would realize that she had yet to return? There was a chance a search party would be sent out for her though they would be hard pressed to find her in the dense fog. ‘

Her hands itched for a weapon to defend herself against any harm that the pair might come across. She’d become adept at using a broom handle to put down tussles in the dining room of Plutt’s inn. More than once she’d knocked out a drunk that had gotten too handsy with one of the other maids. 

A sudden realization sent an icy shiver down her back; humans she could handle, but what of hungry animals? She would not have the ability to fight off a wolf or some other predator if one was to appear.

A whinnying horse further down the path caused her to jump, and thus startle BB-8. He danced on the spot, wickering nervously into her ear. Rey absentmindedly rubbed his nose to soothe him as she debated whether or not she should seek out the rider of the nearby horse. She was saved from making a decision by the appearance of three strangers. Rey tensed on instinct, unable to tell whether they would be friendly or not. She had no money on her, nothing of value besides her horse. If they meant to rob her they would find nothing.

“Good evening,” she spoke, feeling it best to be the one to start the encounter. She resisted the urge to clear her throat as her voice sounded smaller than she intended. 

“Miss,” the redheaded man on the left greeted with a dip of his head. His two companions halted their horses beside his. “Are you in need of assistance?” The thinly veiled panic in her eyes as well as her horse’s reluctance to step fully on his injured hoof was enough to answer his question.

“I-I’ve seem to lost my way,” Rey admitted. She decided to take a chance and ask the strangers for help. “I would be most grateful if you could point me in the correct direction. I live at Stewjon. Do you know where that is?”

“So you’re Miss. Kenobi?” the blonde to the right questioned, drawing Rey’s attention. The young woman’s eyes widened as she realized the blonde was a female. Her tall stature, notable even while astride the horse, and broad shoulders gave Rey the impression that she was a man. That she was wearing male clothing only helped obscure her femininity. Upon further inspection Rey took note of the womanly features to the stranger’s face, making her mistake seem even more embarrassing.

“I am,” Rey affirmed. BB-8 nudged into her arm in impatience which reminded her why exactly she was standing in the middle of the road. “My horse is injured; I would appreciate you showing me the way so I may make my way home to have him tended.”

The redhead and blonde cast a look to the dark haired man mounted between them, almost appearing as if they were having a silent conversation. Rey tried to inspect the third rider inconspicuously as she awaited his answer. His hair held a wave to it and was not tied back as was the fashion, as the redheaded man’s hair was styled. A series of moles and freckles dotted his aristocratic-seeming features. He was unconventionally handsome, she had to admit.

“We will show you the way,” he spoke, surprising her by the soft quality of his voice. “Hux, take the reins from Miss. Kenobi; she can ride with me.” He ordered his mount forward to break away from the line of riders. He halted at her side and made to reach down to help her up.

Every instinct within her fought against the idea of climbing up onto the horse with the strange man. For a reason she couldn’t understand she knew it wouldn’t be safe in the slightest. It was beyond the typical healthy skepticism of dealing with those unknown. 

It was more than that.

“I-I’ll walk, sir,” she insisted, doing her best to square her shoulders and seem certain of herself. Her answer was not the one expected. The pair flanking the dark haired rider exchanged another look between them, thinly veiled amusement visible on their features. 

“You’ll ride with me, Miss. Kenobi,” the stranger insisted again. It seemed as if he’d softened his voice further, putting Rey at ease. Perhaps she was being silly, she supposed. She moved to accept his hand when good sense washed over her like a bucket of icy water upturned upon her head. 

“I’ll walk.” 

The dark haired man stared down at her, arm still extended, with a look of contempt. As quickly as the expression alighted on his face it disappeared. “Will you,” he stated, the words suggesting a question but his tone brooking no such thing. She swallowed thickly and nodded.

A silent standoff ensued between the two, gazes locked as they waited for the other to speak first. Rey was startled to see a smile uplift the corners of his lips after a few seconds of heated silence.

“I’ll be happy to escort you, regardless,” he said while ordering his horse to walk forward. Rey nearly tripped over her feet as she began to walk beside the animal. Her legs were sore from riding and jumping about though she kept her complaints to herself. Riding before him would make the journey much easier though her blood ran cold at the mere thought of getting on his steed.

“I’m afraid I don’t know your name, Mr….”

“Kylo Ren,” he introduced himself while tactfully ignoring her near face dive into the dirt upon stepping into a ditch. “My companions are Mr. Hux and Miss. Chroma,” he added.

Rey shot a look over her shoulder at the other two riders, noticing that they were intent upon watching her and Mr. Ren. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion before she righted her vision. “Do you live nearby?” she inquired, trying to draw on the etiquette Mrs. Kanata had drilled into her. “I’m afraid I haven’t yet introduced myself to much of Moenia just yet.”

He smiled once more though it seemed more amused than polite. “Yes, nearby,” he affirmed. “It’s remarkable we haven’t come across each other until now.”

A snigger behind them caused her head to whip to the side only to catch Mr. Hux transferring the noise into a poorly concealed cough. Had she looked to Miss. Chroma she would’ve seen her giving the redhead a look of acute objection.

Rey toyed with her riding gloves out of nervousness as they walked on, feeling even more on edge than moments before. “Did you know my grandfather?” she inquired. He must, since he lived so close. 

“I met him when I was young, though I haven’t seen him in years. My condolences for your loss,” Mr. Ren said with a slight dip of his head. Rey gave a head bob of recognition in lieu of speaking, as she wasn’t sure what to say in response. Inquisitiveness spurred her to ask more about how he knew her grandfather though politeness dictated she didn’t.

“Oh!” Rey looked up, noticing the bend in the road that led up to the estate. The fog had lessened somewhat, enough that she could see grooms going about their chores at the stables to the west. Relief washed over her at finally reaching her destination.

“Thank you, Mr. Ren,” she said as she took a step away from the flank of his horse. “Mr. Hux, Miss. Chroma,” she added with a nod of her head. She took the reins of BB-8 from Hux as she tried to hide her eagerness in reaching familiarity. 

“Miss. Kenobi,” Mr. Ren said while raising two of his long fingers to his hat in deference. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.” The comment was made without a smile, his face as unfeeling as marble. Yet she couldn’t take his words as mere formality; there was something underlying them that assured her that he meant to act on them. She didn’t watch the trio leave as she led BB-8 out of the fog and toward the stable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspiration from Chapter 2 of "The Hollow Kingdom" (http://www.claredunkle.com/Design/hkprologue.htm): 
> 
> "I think so," replied that amused, amiable voice. "It's probably for the best. So, ready?" And he turned to Kate, putting out his hands to boost her up onto his horse. Emily was stroking the horse's neck delightedly. He was far finer than any at the Hall.
> 
> "No!" said Kate, stepping back and treading on her sister's foot. "I—I prefer to walk, thank you." A silence swept across the little group.
> 
> "Oh, Kate!" Emily gasped.
> 
> The rider dropped his hands slowly and seemed to stare down at her from beneath his hood. He was almost a head taller than she was. "Really," he said distinctly, all amusement gone from that commanding voice. His manner was beyond cold. It was glacial.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure why I've been able to update so quickly but I'm not going to complain. I meant for this story to take a secondary position to "Uneasy" but it seems like they're going to change in order of preference at random. Thanks again for all your comments and kudos!
> 
> This chapter is shorter than the norm, but we're moving the plot along.
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Mrs. Kanata took one look at her torn hem and harried expression before sending her off to dress for supper. Despite being Lady of the House, Rey was still under the age of majority. As she had no living relative, Mr. San Tekka graciously accepted the role of being her guardian. He tasked the care of her to Mr and Mrs. Kanata; Rey was still a woman of independence, but she was to be guided by the Kanatas. The pair had been in the service of her grandfather for years and were trusted members of his staff. Mr. San Tekka assured her a week after their arrival, when he took his leave to attend to an expedition to Yavin, that her grandfather would be pleased to have the Kanatas looking over her.

Mrs. Kanata was a no-nonsense sort of person while Mr. Kanata was far easier going. Both were kind, however, and already formed an affection for the young lady after only a few months. She, in turn, found herself attached to the pair. She hadn’t had another person care for her wellbeing since she’d been with her parents. It took some getting used to, but she was now delighted with the idea of someone caring whether or not she ate or slept or felt well.

It was almost like having a family.

After changing into a fresh dress of rose colored muslin, Rey descended the stairs to the dining room for supper. She found herself ravenous after her ride and subsequent walk through the forest. At her request both the Kanatas took supper with her, as Rey found it far too awkward to sit at the large table alone with a handful of servants at the sideboard. Rey told the tale of her evening over the gentle clatter of cutlery.

“Do you know of Mr. Ren or his companions?” she asked the couple while reaching for her glass of water. She had little taste for wine and was disinclined to drink it at meals. 

Mrs. Kanata exchanged a look across the table at her silent husband before slowly nodding. “He lives….close by,” she explained with some hesitance. “Though I advise you not to speak to him again if he crosses your path.” Her eyes narrowed behind her spectacles. “He isn’t someone who you should be associating with.”

Rey took her time cutting into the slice of beef on her plate to give herself a moment to think. Maybe she hadn’t been overreacting with her reluctance to be near the strange man that evening. “Oh?” she questioned, trying to discreetly draw Mrs. Kanata into speaking further.

The housekeeper saw through her thinly veiled attempt to request more information, but answered regardless. “I implore you to not go near him again,” Mrs. Kanata said, setting down her fork and knife. Rey lowered her cutlery at the serious tone. She glanced to the woman’s husband who was wearing a solemn expression to match his wife’s. 

“He has a reputation, one that would not do you well to be entangled with.”

Rey slowly nodded and let the conversation shift to a topic far less unsettling than Mr. Ren.  
\--

After supper she retired to her room to bathe before bed. One of the maids, a woman looking to be in her fifties, filled a high-backed bathtub with warm water from the kitchens. Once Rey spotted her entering her chamber with two heavy buckets in tow she quickly went to help. 

“Ah, Miss. Kenobi, it’s no trouble,” the maid said as she set down the buckets. “Please, don’t worry yourself.”

Rey hovered near the woman despite her assurance as she felt guilty for having sent for water to bathe, not knowing that the older maid would be charged with fetching it. “I don’t mind helping, really,” she insisted. “To be honest I’ve felt somewhat useless having others performing chores for me. I’ve been so used to doing everything on my own, you see.”

The maid hesitated before gesturing to the second bucket. Rey gladly heaved it over the edge of the tub and let the warm water flow into it. The maid set down a bar of lilac scented soap and a soft rag on the edge of the tub, having pulled both from the pocket of her apron. “Will you be needing anything else, Miss. Kenobi?” she asked. 

“No, thank you,” Rey responded with a shake of her head. She slipped out of her shoes in preparation for disrobing. “Wait!” she said quickly, causing the maid to halt by the door. Her face flushed slightly in her rudeness. “I’m sorry; I don’t recall your name.”

The older woman turned before sinking into a slight curtsey. “It’s Pooja, miss. Pooja Naberrie.”

Rey nodded in thanks, a smile uplifting the corners of her lips. “Thank you for your help, Pooja. Have a good evening.” She watched as a shy smile crossed the maid’s face as she took her leave.

Finally alone, Rey took off her gown and undergarments in order to slip into the tub. Knowing that she had water on hand to bathe at any time she wanted was still a novelty to her. Bathing at Plutt’s involved a basin filled with cool water, a sponge, and abrasive soap. She hadn’t fully engulfed herself in water until her first night at Stewjon when, to her wonder, Mrs. Kanata ordered a bath drawn. 

Rey made busy with lathering herself with the finely scented milled soap. After cleansing herself she luxuriated in the warm water until the pads of her toes and fingers grew pruny from the water. She raised her leg and pulled it inward in order to observe her left foot, having felt a stinging sensation once the soapy rag passed over it. A blister shone red and angry on her heel as a result of her romp through the woods on foot that evening. She let her foot slide back into the tub with a noise of derision. 

After the water turned cool she pried herself from the water and dried off with a length of soft cloth. She dressed for bed and settled herself among the pillows for a brief reading from the book of poems on the little carved table by her bed. Before long her eyes began to droop, the words blurring. Her head fell onto her chest as she drifted off to sleep.

\--

“Move it, girl!”

Rey dodged a hand nearly the size of a plate as Plutt went stalking past her. She rubbed her nose as she watched him, thus smearing soot onto the pale skin. Hastily she picked up the stack of linens she’d dropped to hustle them into the kitchen. A pot of boiling water was waiting for her to dump into the wash bin. “Move it, girl,” she mumbled to herself in a poor imitation of Plutt’s voice. 

“Your employer leaves much to be desired.”

Rey dropped the armful of linens as she turned on her heel to face the familiar voice. Mr. Ren stood in Plutt’s dingy kitchen, eyeing his surroundings as if he’d stepped into a barbarian’s hovel. His impeccably kept clothing seemed so abnormally out of place that she nearly laughed. 

“What are you doing in my dream?” she asked, realizing with sudden clarity that she was sleeping and not actually stuck in Plutt’s inn under his thumb once more. 

Amusement flashed on Mr. Ren’s face which did little to set her at ease. “You realize that this is a dream?” he asked, fascination evident in his voice. He shook his head with a small, disbelieving laugh. “Amazing,” he murmured to himself.

She opened her mouth to speak only to be silenced by his raised forefinger. 

“Let’s talk somewhere more….appropriate,” he said. She looked around suddenly as her surroundings changed, morphing into the forest trail that she’d met him on that night. 

“There, that’s better,” he said as he took his hat into his hand. Rey looked down to find her drab maid’s clothing replaced by the riding habit she’d worn upon meeting him. “How-”

“I’m afraid our conversation will be quite short; don’t take it for rudeness as that is not my intention. It’s proving very difficult to do this,” he said with a vague gesture in the air.

“What do you want?” she asked while making no attempt at being polite. For some reason her mind decided to inject Mr. Ren into her dream, most likely a result from her nerve wracking walk through the woods with him. It was the only logical explanation she could formulate.

“I want to give you forewarning,” he explained as his impossibly long legs closed the distance between them. Though tall for her sex, Rey was forced to raise her head in order to meet his eyes. 

“What will come next will be trying but I’m more than confident you’ll hold up. Your mind is stronger than I expected; it’ll withstand.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, frustration making itself clear in her voice and the scowl painted on her face. She had little patience for mind games, especially while dreaming. 

“I don’t wish to hurt you, Rey,” he said, startling her by the use of her name. She’d only told him her surname though she supposed it was possible that he might’ve heard it elsewhere. Moenia wasn’t a large town, and gossip traveled quickly. “And I’ll do my best not to. Like I said, you’re strong. Your mind-”

He stopped suddenly, clarity lighting up his features. “Oh! Oh…..Yes, that must be it. That’s why it didn't work. Why you-” He looked down, as if remembering that she was still standing before him in confusion.

“Oh, this makes everything much more interesting, doesn’t it?” he asked theoretically, a laugh following on the heels of his confounding words. He smacked his hat against his hand in glee.

Rey longed to take him by the forearms and shake him in order to get a coherent answer, yet somehow managed to hold herself in check. She was saved from fighting the urge as he bowed before her.

“As I said, we’ll meet again. Preferably soon so we can get this over with.”

About to question him once more, Rey found herself slipping away.

\--  
With a start Rey sat up in bed, wide awake after her odd dream. It returned to her in such detail, unlike any dream she’d ever had before, that she couldn’t help but feel puzzled. She reached for her book of poems which should’ve been in her lap yet instead was placed on her night table. She frowned, guessing that she’d woken up and placed it there before falling back asleep, and rolled onto her side. The night air seeped into the room from the window she hadn’t left ajar.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, kudos, and bookmarks! 
> 
> We have another dream, another meeting, and a mention of the Gray. :)
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Moenia was minuscule in comparison to the sprawling layout of Theed.  The town boasted only a handful of streets and a single market.  The quiet country town held a charm that was lacking in the dirty, overcrowded capital.  Rey hadn’t had a chance to explore it thoroughly since arriving at Stewjon three months earlier.  On her initial journey to the area the coach had skipped the town entirely in order to take a more direct route to the estate.  Now that she could sit a horse and comport herself in a way ‘befitting of her station’, she longed to go into town to see it for herself.  

 

When Poe announced on one of their evening rides that he was going into town, Rey couldn’t help but beg to accompany him.  By all right she didn’t have to ask but the thought of ordering someone was  _ infinitely _ uncomfortable.  Lady of the House or not, she still attempted to do as much for herself as possible without relying on servants.  

 

Mrs. Kanata drew up a list of drygoods that the estate’s pantry was in need of when she heard of Poe’s impending trip.  She tasked Pooja with accompanying the pair as she voiced her good natured doubts that Poe would remember to acquire flour and sugar when faced with the shopkeeper’s daughter.  

 

Shortly after breakfast the trio set out from Stewjon to make their way to the village.  It was roughly a half hour’s ride by horse though their journey would be longer as they’d brought a cart.  Poe and Pooja shared the wagon seat while Rey rode alongside them on BB-8.  

 

The three made light conversation though it appeared Pooja was reluctant to be so informal with her mistress.  Rey didn’t want her thinking her to be the type of snooty young women that she’d seen in Theed, and made an effort to change her line of thinking.

 

“Have you lived in Moenia your whole life, Pooja?” she inquired barely fifteen minutes into their trip.

 

“I have, Miss- Rey,” Pooja amended hastily.  

 

Rey had taken to instructing members of the staff to use her first name when speaking with her, out of earshot of Mrs. Kanata.  ‘Kenobi’ was still a name she had to grow used to, let alone being referred to as ‘Miss’.

 

“My family has lived in Moenia for generations.”

 

Rey nodded in acknowledgement of her explanation.

 

Once in town, Poe secured the horses and cart before taking his leave of them to hunt down the supplies needed for the stables.  With Pooja in tow, Rey took charge of Mrs. Kanata’s list.

 

The drygoods store was roughly the size of the front room of Plutt’s inn.  The walls were stocked fully with various foodstuffs and supplies. It was difficult not to become distracted by all there was on display, especially knowing that she had the funds to purchase whatever she wanted.  

 

Somehow Rey made it to the long counter situated at the far end of the store where a middle aged man was helping an expectant mother.  A young boy peeked out from behind his mother’s skirt, crammed between the counter and the woman’s legs.  He gave Rey a shy smile before being tugged away by his mother’s hand, the other busy holding onto a package of sugar.

 

“Hello,” Rey greeted the shopkeeper with a small smile.  “I’ve a list of some supplies I need.  Do you have all of this?”  She slid the scrap of paper filled with Mrs. Kanata’s careful hand across the countertop.  As she spoke with the shopkeeper she noticed an elderly woman enter the store from a door behind the counter.  As with most shops, the family that owned the drygoods store lived behind the front room of the shop.  Rey assumed the old woman to be the man’s mother if not mother-in-law.

 

Standing where she was, Rey was able to take note of the blood fleeing the old woman’s face.  At first Rey thought it was because of her until she realized that the elderly woman was looking off to the right of her, where Pooja stood.

 

The old woman ducked back into the other room without a word.  After her business with the shopkeeper concluded, Rey couldn’t help but feel awkward about what she’d witnessed.  She momentarily shelved her confusion as the shopkeeper’s sons loaded the wagon with their purchases.  She gave a coin to each of the three boys from the purse at her hip, earning fumbled bows and ‘thank you, ma'am’s.  

 

With Mrs. Kanata’s list taken care of, Rey was left with mailing a letter she’d written to Mr. San Tekka.  He’d arrived in Yavin two months ago and had sent her a letter nearly every other week.   He told her plenty about her family and her grandfather in particular.  She, in turn, updated him on how she was adjusting to Moenia along with tidbits of her life in Theed.  Neither with family of their own, they’d formed a sort of grandfather and granddaughter relationship of their own.

 

Her latest letter was written in thanks for the woven rug he’d sent her, handcrafted by the Ewok people.  She’d put it in a prominent spot in the first floor drawing room as it was too finely crafted to be hidden away in her bedroom.  After handing off her letter to the postmaster, both she and Pooja returned to the wagon to wait for Poe.  Rey patted BB-8 as she led him over to a stump near the inn that served as a mounting block.  She hoisted herself into the saddle and directed him back to the side of the wagon.

 

It would be rude to point out the old woman’s aversion to Pooja, but Rey was far too curious to let it slide.

 

“Did that woman know you?” she asked.  “The old woman at the shop?”

 

Pooja shifted uncomfortably on the bench of the cart before answering.  “Not exactly.  I suppose she knows of my family, though,” she answered.

 

The woman’s answer left Rey further confused which prompted the maid to extrapolate. 

 

“Some of the more…..superstitious in Moenia are wary of my family, ever since my aunt disappeared.  She ran away but others thought she’d been taken by the Gray.”

 

“The Gray?”

 

Despite her apparent disdain for the superstitious, Pooja hastily looked around at Rey’s question.  Content no magical beings or prying townspeople were looking, she began to speak.

 

“Certainly you’ve heard of Force users?  The Jedi and the Sith?”

 

Rey chuckled at the mention of the fairytales.  “Who hasn’t?  The same can be said for goblins and elves,” she said.

 

Pooja shook her head and made a noise of disagreement. “Around here people are more prone to believing in all of that.  Many believe that they exist, and live in hiding.  The Gray are the descendents of the Jedi and Sith of hundreds of years ago.”  

 

She waved her hand in the air as if her speech was inconsequential.

 

“Anyway, there is a belief that a portion of the Gray settled near Moenia to hide from the rest of the world.  They’re a small population, having had so many die during the great wars between the Jedi and Sith.  They need fresh bloodlines, you see, so that they can expand.  The tales speak of young women going missing, chosen to be brides of the Gray.”

 

Rey leaned forward slightly in the saddle, engrossed in the tale even if she thought it absurd.

 

“It’s not so common, but whenever a young woman goes off to elope with her lover or leaves town, the Gray are blamed. My aunt left my mother’s home a few days after my birth, never to be seen again.  Some believe that the Gray took her.”

 

Rey straightened in the saddle at seeing Poe approach with a sack over his shoulder, thus breaking her from Pooja’s story.

 

“Do you believe it?” she asked while adjusting the reins.  Poe swung up onto the bench beside Pooja after untying the horses.  Their conversation would have to shift to avoid awkward questions.

 

“Of course not,” Pooja said, though the uncertainty in her gaze told Rey otherwise. 

\--

Carefully she dragged the soft bristled brush along BB-8’s coat. The horse munched on the hay beneath their feet while Rey continued to groom.  The stables were one of her favorite places to be at Stewjon.  She was utterly fascinated by the horses and the business of the barn.  Poe told her that her love of the animal must run in her blood.

 

A crunch in the hay had her looking up to see Mr. Ren.  

 

_ ‘I’m dreaming,’  _ she realized, connecting him with her previous dream in which he’d appeared.  She looked down at the brush in her hand, realizing that none of it was real.

 

“Were you always able to tell when you were dreaming?” he asked while stepping into the stall.  Dream BB-8 lifted his head at the intruder before going back to his food.  

 

“Sometimes,” she answered, wondering why she even bothered.  If he was in her dream, wasn’t she technically speaking to herself?  It was all very confusing.

 

He nodded, as if storing the information away for a later time.

 

“I don’t know why I keep dreaming about you,” she admitted flatly.  There was no need for politeness if this was only a dream.

 

“I’ll try not to seem flattered,” he said while throwing a hand upon his chest, as if affronted. 

 

“Maybe I’m doing too much…..” she muttered to herself.  “I’m exhausted by the end of the day.  The Season hasn’t started yet and already I can hardly wait until it is over.”

 

He perched himself upon a stack of hay, so out of place in his expensive clothing that she nearly laughed.

 

“I wouldn’t worry about the Season if I were you,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.  “You won’t be attending, so there is no need to fret over it.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“What I ‘mean by that’ is that you won’t be finding a husband in Theed,” he explained.  

 

Rey assumed her mind was simply preying upon her shortcomings and how she wouldn’t be able to measure up to the debutantes in Theed.

 

“I don’t particularly want one,” she admitted, having stopped brushing the horse.  

 

“Many women in your position have said the exact same thing,” he assured her, taking off his gloves to expose pale hands with long fingers.  He grabbed a comb for the horse’s mane from the tack box near his feet to hand to her.  Rey accepted it, feeling the brush of his fingers against hers.

 

“My grandmother was the same.  Oh, how she raved!  Yet she was happy in her marriage, short lived as it was.”

 

Rey dropped the brush into the hay and shook her head.  “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.  “Why-why am I even listening to this?”

 

Mr. Ren regarded her with concern and rose from the bale of hay.  He made to move closer to her only to remain still.  “I can see this is putting a strain on you,” he said lightly.  “That wasn’t my intention, as I’ve told you before.   Why don’t you wake up?”

\--

Armed with a paring knife and basket, Rey set out into the surrounding woods after a brief lunch the afternoon after her latest odd dream.  She chose the simplest dress in her wardrobe for her exploration in the woods as she didn’t wish to ruin any of the silks of her finer gowns.  If she had her way she’d simply don a pair of pants and a shirt though she feared Mrs. Kanata’s reaction; she didn’t want to be responsible for the woman having a heart attack.

 

The fog that rolled in from the water wasn’t nearly as dense as the evening when she’d lost her way in the woods.  It was at what the locals would deem a usual level, visibility only slightly obscured.  Rey had been at Stewjon for nearly four months and only a handful of those days had existed without any fog or mist.

 

On a particularly warm day she’d cajoled Poe into showing her the river not far from the estate’s grounds.  She’d waded up to her knees to cool off before clambering out of the water to roll on her stockings once more.  

 

The swamps she’d yet to visit, nor did she have any wish to.

 

Rey followed the path that led from the estate to a foot trail running parallel to town.  There, just as she remembered from her rides on BB-8, grew patches of lavender.  Having confided to Pooja that she had trouble sleeping as of late, the maid suggested she gather some of the plant to sprinkle over her pillow to aid in sleeping.

 

Eagerly she knelt down in the soil and began cutting off sprigs of the flower.  Soon a sizeable amount of blooms lay in her basket.  Perhaps, if she had extra, she’d ask the laundress to make bars of soap with the sprigs for washing.

 

“Ah, Miss. Kenobi.  So good to see you again.”

 

Rey turned her head sharply to the left at hearing the voice from her dreams.  For a reason she couldn’t understand, her dreams had taken hold of the brief meeting she had with Mr. Ren the week before.  The whicker of Mr. Ren’s horse as it shifted its footing beside its dismounted rider jarred her from her thoughts.

 

“Sir,” she said, standing hastily and brushing off her dress.  Pinkness tinged her cheeks as she realized that she must’ve stained her dress with smudges of earth and grass.  She resisted the urge to look down to assess the damage.

 

Mrs. Kanata’s warning reverberated in her head.

 

“I’m sorry, but I was just leaving.  I’m expected back for dancing lessons,” she lied.  

 

Her unease about him was difficult to mask.  Combined with her unsettledness from the night he escorted her to Stewjon along with her dreams and Mrs. Kanata’s opinion of the man, Rey couldn’t help but feel on edge.  She knew she couldn’t hold what her dream version of him said or did against him, as it wasn’t really  _ him _ but rather her mind being over productive.  Still…

 

“Forgetting something?” he asked as he stooped down to pick up her forgotten basket.

 

Her blush increased tenfold as she took the basket back with a mumbled ‘thank you’. 

 

“I imagine you must be preparing for the Season, what with your dancing lessons,” he commented, his gaze more penetrating than usual.  Rey adjusted her grip on the handle of her basket as she fumbled for words.

 

“I-”  They’d spoken about the Season the night before, in her dream.  It had to be coincidence that he was asking her about it now.  Merely coincidence.

 

“Yes,” she said quickly in an attempt to smooth over her hesitance.  “My grandfather’s friend has graciously volunteered to act as my chaperone in Theed.”  It would be an utter mess, one that she was very much dreading, but didn’t mention it to Mr. Ren.  

 

“Will you be attending, Mr. Ren?” 

 

The idea of his dark eyes following her every move as she tried to act the part of her new social station would make the Season all the more nerve wracking.

 

Mr. Ren laughed at her inquiry.  “No, no.  I haven’t been to Theed in ages, nor do I wish to go.”

 

Rey nodded at his statement as she wasn’t sure what to say in response to his comment.  

 

“I should be getting back,” she said after a moment’s silence fell between them.  “Good-”

 

“Let me escort you?” he inquired while cutting off her speech with his own.  

 

Rey pressed her lips together tightly, wondering if it was worth trying to politely shrug off his offer.  The urge to hurry back to the estate and leave him behind was making her impatient.

 

“I can manage on my own, thank you,” she said as she placed her paring knife into the basket.  The blade was swallowed by the mound of lavender, leaving only the tip of the hilt sticking out.  “I know the way.”

 

“You’re not fearful for who you meet on the road?  Most young women wouldn’t dare leave their homes, especially one as fine as yours, without some form of escort.”

 

Rey grit her teeth at his insistence in speaking.  “I survived in the slums of Theed for nearly all my life,” she explained, caring little that she was essentially airing the less than satisfactory origins of the Kenobi heiress to a mere acquaintance.  “I assure you I’ll be fine.”

 

He seemed amused, as one would in response to a child’s show of bravery.  His expression bordered on indulgent which only aggravated her further.

 

“You don’t fear the Gray?” he inquired, mischief sneaking into his tone.

 

An icy shiver worked its way down her back in reference to the fantastical beings of Pooja’s tale.  “They’re myths,” Rey reminded him with a forced frown.  “The Jedi, the Sith; the Gray are just extensions of those stories.  They’re as real as unicorns.”

 

His chuckle nearly made her jump, so on edge was she.

 

“I promise you I’ve never seen a unicorn before,” he said through his laughter.  His smile was pure with the light of his amusement. 

 

“Well, Miss. Kenobi,” he said once he’d schooled his features into impassivity once more, “I’ll leave you to your dancing lessons.  I trust you’ll be able to find your way back this time without my assistance, what with your skills as a former maid.”

 

The comment was undeniably rude and deserved a response of the same caliber.  Stinging words froze on Rey’s tongue as her mind zeroed in on a particular word of his insult.

 

“Maid,” she repeated, brows furrowing and creasing her skin.  “How did you know I was a maid?”

 

For a beat he seemed to be taken aback.  The lapse in his expression was so quickly masked that she thought she’d imagined the brief second of surprise in his eyes.  

 

“Though you might’ve not told others of your….humble beginnings, gossip does spread,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.  “Some in town know of what profession you had before coming to Moenia.  Perhaps some of your servants should be more careful with what they say in the tavern after a few mugs of ale.”

 

He looked down at her basket which prompted her to follow the direction of his sight.  Her right hand had moved off the handle of the basket to wrap around the hilt of her paring knife.  Hastily she dropped it, letting it sink back into the pile of lavender.  

 

“I’ll have my housekeeper speak to the staff about...discretion,” she said as she replaced her hand onto the basket.  “Good day, sir.”  She did a slight bob of a curtsy- more of a teeter than anything else- and set off for the path. 

 

Rey did her best to ignore the burning of his eyes into her back as she realized she hadn’t asked why he was riding through the woods so close to her property.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support so far! 
> 
> This chapter is shorter than usual though I felt that where I stopped was a good place for the time being. I hope this chapter answers some of the questions you may have about the Gray and Force users in this universe. 
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

 

“Come back!  Come back!”

 

She was reaching for something in her dream, reaching for her last memory of her parents.  She could only see the back of her father, shielding her mother from those in the street.  Plutt’s dirty hand was on her shoulder, restraining her from running after her mother and father who were blending into a crowd of faceless people.  

 

“Wait!”

 

Something was tugging on her hair. 

 

Rey’s eyes opened to find a hand in her line of vision, reaching over to undo the scrap of ribbon that tied off her braid.  Hastily she sat up in bed, thus dislodging the stranger’s grasp.  

 

“Who-”

 

It took her mere seconds to recognize the man as Mr. Ren, illuminated by the moonlight streaming past the undrawn curtains.

 

Her dream had shifted to a completely different setting than the dirty streets of lower Theed to her opulent bedroom.  

 

She sat up and scooted back against her pillows to open room between the two.  He was dressed differently than when she’d seen him in real life or in her previous dreams.  His pantaloons were of buckskin rather than the expensive looking dark fabric he normally dressed in.  Mr. Ren’s coat was of cotton rather than the traveling wool coat he’d worn on the road.  Bare headed to boot, he looked at ease.

 

Even though she was dreaming she couldn’t ignore her modesty.  She’d never given into desperation and sold her virtue on the streets of Theed though plenty in her situation had.  Rey knew well enough that Plutt would’ve only been too happy to jump upon the offer if she was to extend it.  

 

She yanked up her coverlet to nearly her chin as she stared down the dream intruder.

 

“I think we’ve put off the inevitable for too long, don’t you think so?” he inquired, voice soft in the otherwise silent room.  Far off, through the open window, she could hear the nickering of horses carried on the wind from the stables.

 

“What are you talking about?” she asked, wondering if her lucid dreaming extended to changing her wardrobe.  She could hardly argue with his insolent dream-self while clutching a blanket to her nightdress.

 

“We spoke of the Gray, the last time we met,” Mr. Ren said, effectively ignoring her question.  “You told me they were fairy tales.  What else do you know of them?”

 

“It hardly matters! They’re made up stories to frighten children into behaving.  Ms. Naberrie told me of how those stupid stories made her family into pariahs in town.”

 

Mr. Ren tutted though his eyes shone with amusement.  “My grandmother wasn’t very pleased with that,” he said with a shake of his head.  “If her duties allowed she would’ve returned to her family to assure them of her safety.  Being an empress calls for sacrifice, unfortunately.”

 

Her confusion must’ve been painted on her face as he continued to explain.

 

“My grandmother was named Padmé Naberrie, making your Ms. Naberrie my aunt.  I assure you that she didn’t desert town or run away with an illicit lover like the town gossips like to say.”  He paused, tilting his head slightly as he considered something.  “Perhaps the latter could be argued for the truth, though.”

 

“You’re not making any sense,” Rey protested, crossing her arms.  The conversation was very confusing for her own dream.  “There is no ‘empress’.  Queen Jamilla is Queen of Naboo.”

 

“Not all of Naboo falls under her reign,” he corrected, leaning back slightly upon his hands.  He stared at her in his typical unnerving way, making her itch to smack the expression from his face.

 

“The Emperor of the Gray has domain over all those with the Force within this kingdom, whether they accept their gifts or not.  Many of us unfortunately choose to live among the Muns instead of embracing our gifts and the community,” he explained, a hint of a sneer making its way to his lips.

 

“Muns,” she repeated, the word holding no clarification.

 

“Mundanes; civilians, if you will,” he said with a inconsequential wave of his hand.

 

“I thought you were one of them but I was wonderfully wrong.  All the better for us, I’m certain.  The Gray need new blood from time to time.”

 

Rey stared at him as if he’d sprouted another head.  To be fair, having two heads might’ve made him seem saner.

 

“I shouldn’t have eaten those lemon cakes,” she murmured to herself.  She leaned back against her pillows and placed a hand to her forehead.  Perhaps the treat before bed made her mind run wild.  There was no other explanation for why her dreams were taking such a direction.

 

Mr. Ren rolled his eyes, a decisively ungentlemanly gesture.  “This isn’t the product of late night sweets,” he said sternly.  “Give me more credit.”

 

He stood from her bed and smoothed out his coat.  “I’m not surprised you don’t know of your abilities.  Had you been raised by your grandfather I’m sure he would’ve explained them to you.”

  
“My grandfather?” 

 

Rey perked up at the mention of the relative she’d never known.  Whatever ‘dream’ Mr. Ren told her of him would be made up, she realized, as she had no knowledge of him beyond Mr. San Tekka’s letters.  Still, she was interested in knowing what her mind could construct.  

 

“He had the Force, though he didn’t live with the Gray.  A pity, as he would’ve been a great asset to us.  It’s an anomaly that your father, his son, didn’t have such abilities.  We must be thankful for such a miracle that you inherited the Force instead.”

 

Mr. Ren crossed to her wardrobe and began rifling through it.   She made a noise of protest which he ignored in his hunt.  Finding what he wanted, he retrieved a cloak from amongst the articles of clothing.  He shook it out, the wool fabric flapping from the snapping of his wrists.

 

Rey watched him in wide eyed confusion as he carefully draped the cloak over the foot of her bed.  

 

“Where do you keep your shoes?” he asked, lifting up his head from his placement of the cloak.  A lock of dark hair fell into his eyes at the movement.

 

“In-in the chest by the door,” she explained, mind whirring in an attempt to process the latest turn of events.

 

Somehow she managed to catch on to a keyword in his last explanation.

 

“ ‘We’; you keep saying ‘we’,” she pointed out.  

 

Mr. Ren paused in his perusal of the cedar chest before going back to his hunt of footwear.

 

“I did,” he agreed.  Ren selected a pair of slippers made of soft leather.  He shut the chest and placed the shoes by the floor near the cloak.

 

“I was speaking of myself and the others,” he extrapolated. 

 

“You’re one of the Gray is what you’re trying to tell me?” Rey questioned with disbelief.  

 

“The emperor, in fact.  Please, don’t bother with bowing; my betrothed has no need to subjugate herself.  And I suppose you may call me by my first name, what with our impending nuptials. It’s Kylo,” he said with a playful smile.

 

“Your betrothed?”

 

The two stared each other down until she realized his meaningful look meant  _ her _ .  

 

“Pardon me!” she said, rage entering her tone.  “How dare you to presume such a thing!  Dream or not that is not couth behavior of-of a man of your standing!” 

 

Kylo startled her by laughing outright at her indignant display, which only served to aggravate her further.

 

“You can imagine it is rather hard to find a bride being who I am,” he said with a chuckle.  “The need for new bloodlines is rather dire as well.  The emperor has nearly always taken a wife outside of the community.  I’m sure you realize how difficult it would be to court, so we often skip that entirely.  The emperor’s tie to the Force is strong enough that there has always been at least one heir that has the Force, even if he took a Mun wife.  But we don’t have to worry about that with you, hmm?”

 

He tugged the coverlet out of her dumbfounded grip.  “As I said, let’s not prolong the inevitable.  Come and dress so that we may leave.  I know it’s been rather warm but the night is cool, is it not?  Your cloak will do.”

 

“You’re trying to tell me that I have some mystical powers,” Rey said, tone bordering on hysterics as she scrambled backward. “And that you are betrothing yourself to me?  Are you insane!”

 

As quickly as her anxiety came on it evaporated.

 

“It’s just a dream,” she reminded herself with a sigh. 

 

“Really, Rey,” Kylo said with a shake of his head.  He moved to sit on the side of her bed, one hand leaning out to near her cheek.  

 

“What gives you that idea?”

 

His fingers touched the softness of her cheek with astounding clarity.

 

Realization sunk in.

  
The last thing Rey remembered was screaming, seeing Kylo stagger backward,  and darkness flooding her vision.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter as it's mostly dialogue, but I can't toy with it any longer or I'll just wind up deleting the entire thing.
> 
> We receive more information about the Gray in this chapter, so it's briefer than usual. Next chapter should be back to the usual length. 
> 
> Thank you again for your comments, kudos, and bookmarks!
> 
> If you have any questions regarding the fic or just wish to pop by and say 'hello', message me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Rey felt as if she was standing in fog, unable to see or to grasp her surroundings.  Faintly she heard voices, worried and harried sounding.  It was a struggle to focus on them to try to decipher what they were saying.

 

“Rey!”

 

With a gasp she opened her eyes to find Mrs. Kanata, Mr. Kanata, and two servants standing over her. 

 

“Shh, easy my dear,” Mrs. Kanata soothed as she took Rey’s head into her hands.  Her strong thumbs rubbed along Rey’s temples to keep her charge from panicking.  Rey’s eyes slid over the gathered group before recalling, with complete clarity, what had transpired with Mr. Ren.

 

With  _ Kylo. _

 

“Someone was in my room!” she said hurriedly, moving to sit up.  She dislodged Mrs. Kanata’s hands at the sudden movement.  “A-a man!”

 

Already the two servants at the foot of her bed were crossing the room toward her open window.  Rey propped herself up on her hands as she watched one of the men glance down to the empty garden below before turning back to his audience.

 

“There’s no one there, ma'am,” he said with a shake of his head.  “No one that I can see.”

 

“Go out there and look properly then,” Mrs. Kanata snapped.  Rey was surprised by her harsh tone taken with the young men though neither of them stopped to question her.  Instead they hastily left the room to follow out the housekeeper’s orders.

 

“Light a candle, Chewie, will you?”

 

The hulking butler did as his wife requested of him before going to shut the gaping window. The candle, mounted on the wall with a polished oval of silver behind it, provided for enough light to see properly. He mumbled his wish to see that the grounds were thoroughly searched as well before taking his leave of them both.  His exit shut out the curious eyes of the maidservants crowded in the corridor, clad in their dressing gowns.

 

“You believe me then!?  I promise you it wasn’t a dream!” Rey exclaimed, while reaching out for Mrs. Kanata’s hand.  Her fear over the pair dismissing Mr. Ren’s appearance as a mere dream, when it was all too real, dissipated with the housekeeper’s nod.

 

“I believe you,” Mrs. Kanta assured her, taking Rey’s hand and covering it with her second.  “I wish I could assure you of the opposite.”  She patted Rey’s hand with her wrinkled one before looking to the cloak draped across the edge of the bed.

 

Rey followed the woman’s line of sight to the garment.  Seeing it sent her heart thundering in her chest as if she’d run miles on end.  If she needed any more evidence as to what passed in her bedroom only minutes earlier, the cloak and shoes would service.

 

“Did he come to fetch you?  Or did he send one of his little lackeys?” 

 

The brunette gaped at the woman who, apparently, knew more than she let on.

 

“H-He came,” Rey stammered.  “Mr. Ren; Kylo.”

 

Mrs.Kanata tutted as she looked toward the latched window.  “He’ll be gone, then.  Or hiding himself so that those fools outside won’t be able to find him.”  She shook her head in disappointment.  She stood from Rey’s bedside, releasing her tender grip on the frightened girl’s hand, and set to replacing the cloak and shoes that the intruder had taken out.

 

“The sun will be up soon, so he won’t be sticking around, then.  None of the Gray tend to venture out into the sun, preferring the fog. Have you noticed?”

 

Rey blinked in confusion over the woman’s statement.  “What-”

 

“It’s said they live in the caverns to the east, though no one knows for sure.  At least, that’s what the legends say.  I suppose it makes sense, doesn’t it?  Living in such dank, dark dwellings will leave you with intolerance to brightness.”

 

The amazed look etched upon Rey’s features did nothing to slow down the housekeeper.

 

“Now, you can hardly stay here,” Mrs. Kanata continued as she opened the wardrobe.  “It won’t be sunny forever.  We’ll send you to Theed early, get you temporary accommodations before you can lease a townhouse for the Season.”

 

Turning to face her charge, she caught sight of Rey’s dumbfounded expression.

 

“Unless you want to be taken away from the Emperor of the Gray to parts unknown?”

 

Rey’s face reddened as she clambered out of bed.

 

“Of course not!” she retorted, earning a wry smile from Mrs. Kanata.

 

“The Force, the….Gray.  They’re all real, then,” Rey murmured as she neared the housekeeper.  The young woman  all but collapsed into the chair before her dressing table..  Beneath her nightdress her knees shook as she struggled to comprehend that the stuff of fairytales was _ real.  _

 

Not only that, but the leader of the mystical beings somehow had taken a shine to  _ her. _

 

Perhaps staying a maid under Plutt’s thumb and wasting away in Theed would’ve been better than discovering her inheritance, she thought.

 

“This is ridiculous,” she uttered, tone clipped.  “Utterly ridiculous.  Who would dare presume…..”  

 

“Kings do what they wish, don’t they?  Thank the Maker that we have a queen sitting in Theed,” Mrs. Kanata remarked with a smirk.

 

“How do you know about this?  You’re oddly calm over this….insanity,” Rey questioned.  Mrs. Kanata didn’t appear offended as Rey supposed she would.  Instead she drew the curtains across the windows.  Rey caught a glimpse of lantern lights bobbing as the men Mrs. Kanata had sent combed the grounds, before the heavy cloth obscured her view.

 

“Everyone here knows about the Gray, of course,” Mrs. Kanata explained while taking a seat on the edge of Rey’s bed.  She folded her hands in her lap primly, as if she was sitting down for a social visit rather than explaining the madness that had occurred to Rey the past hour.

 

“But few actually believe them to be real. In my youth they were more feared, you see.  I suppose because that was when Padmé Naberrie was taken away; it was fresh in our memories, then.  She was such a lovely young woman, truly.  Ahead of her time, one might say.”

 

The housekeeper sighed, looking past Rey to the wardrobe as if recalling the phantom woman’s appearance.  

 

“I was but a girl when she vanished.  Some believed her to have run off but it hardly made a lick of sense, seeing as how involved she was in Moenia’s social circles.  She had grand ideas for improving life in Moenia, you see.  There were whispers as well that someone got rid of her, per se, because of how forward thinking she was.  But the rest of us knew better; she’d been taken away by the Gray.”

 

Rey found herself wringing her hands in her lap as she tried to digest all that Mrs. Kanata told her.

 

“He said I have the same magical abilities that the rest of his kind have.  That my grandfather did as well.  Is that true?” Rey questioned anxiously.  If she had the Force, as he’d put it, why hadn’t she been able to use it before?  If anything she could’ve used it to better her life in Theed, away from Plutt and his heavy hand.  

 

Mrs. Kanta nod affirmed Rey’s fears.  “Very few knew, you must understand,” she cautioned Rey.  “It isn’t something one advertises, especially around here.  He could’ve been ruined had it been common knowledge.  But yes; your grandfather had the Force, as did many in his family before him.”

 

“My father,” Rey started, staring down into her hands as if they would deliver answers to her, “did he have it as well?” She tried to picture what she could recall of the man, a blurry memory, and imagined him doing something mystical.  It didn’t compute.

 

“No, he didn’t,” Mrs. Kanata affirmed.  “Which was all the better for him. Though the Force can be a blessing, it also can be a curse.  Perhaps it was for the best that he didn’t inherit such a gift from your grandfather.”

 

The influx of information, combined with her unexpected meeting with Mr. Ren, was enough to make her head spin.  A throbbing above her temple grated her nerves further.  

 

“Are you one of them, Mrs. Kanata?  One of the Gray? Or a Force User or whatever they’re called….” 

 

“Maz, call me Maz,” the housekeeper insisted with a wave of her hand.  “We’ve bared enough to each other in this night alone to dispense with such formality, haven’t we?”  

 

Rey was startled further by Maz’s rebuke of etiquette which, until now, seemed to be of the staunchest variety. 

 

“And no, I don’t have the ability.  Yet I’ve lived here a long time, Rey, as have my family.  Many in Moenia have chosen to ignore what they once knew.  It’s easier to turn a blind eye,” she said with a shake of her head.  

 

Maz slid off the edge of the bed to stand erect. “I’ll speak with my husband and the men he sent out,” she said while crossing the room toward the door.  “Try to sleep, for tomorrow we’ll talk of sending you to the capital.”

 

“Will it be safe there?” Rey asked hurriedly, trying to delay the moment when she would be alone in her room once more.  The thought that Kylo would return was ever present though there was some doubt that he would risk a confrontation with the whole estate on alert.

 

“Safer than here,” Maz said with finality.  

 

That she hadn’t affirmed Rey’s hope that Theed would be too far out of reach of Ren made the young woman deflate.  The all consuming fear she’d felt for the better part of the night was slowly melting into rage.  For the majority of her life she’d been controlled by others, doing what she was told without choice.  She wouldn’t let that happen to her again.

  
If he meant to take her, she wasn’t going to let him do so lying down.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a tad longer than usual, as much needed to occur before we could move on. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Rey woke bleary eyed and exhausted a few hours later. The sun was, thankfully, blocked by the heavy curtains Maz drew earlier. If the bright light had been streaming in, Rey would’ve been tempted to bury her head beneath her pillow. With great difficulty she dragged herself out of bed to prepare for her day. 

It would be in vain to pretend as if the harrowing events of the night before hadn’t occurred. The evidence was in the bags under her eyes as well as the general twitchiness of the maid attending her morning toilette. Her mind was consumed with digesting all that occurred and attempting to make sense of it. She had the Force, some magical abilities that set her apart from others. 

Rey couldn’t help but recall seeing Kylo be thrown back before she lost consciousness. Had she done that?

Her options concerning Ren’s threat were limited. She could either resign herself to the fate that the supposed mythical being arranged for her or resist such a future. She was hardly going to bind herself to the ‘emperor’, especially against her will. 

The entire situation was laughable; more than once she feared she would dissolve into hysterical giggles. The poor maid assisting her would’ve likely fled if Rey slipped.

After dressing, and trying to reconcile herself that the Gray were real and not the stuff of fairy tales, she set off toward the dining room to take breakfast.

A flash of a linen apron ducking into one of the rooms on the right side of the corridor caught Rey’s attention. She peered into the room to find Pooja armed with a rag to dust the formal sitting room. She turned at hearing the intruder, finding that it was only Rey. Her trepidation, to Rey’s confusion, didn’t dissipate upon recognizing her mistress.

“It was one of them, wasn’t it?” Pooja asked, voice fervent as if she had little time in which to present her inquiry. “The Gray?”

Rey’s mouth ran dry at the maid’s jittery behavior. She remembered Pooja’s dismissal of the myth in town, when they’d discussed why one of the villagers had given her such a frightened look. It appeared that Pooja put more stock into the legends than she let Rey initially believe.

Rey settled for a stiff nod in response.

The color in Pooja’s cheeks drained, giving her a pasty appearance. Without a word the maid hurried past Rey, nearly knocking into her shoulder in her haste. Rey watched the servant hustle down the hall before directing herself to the dining room. She ate sparingly, finding that she had little appetite that morning. The warm, crusty bread rolls that she so enjoyed drizzling honey upon tasted like ash in her mouth. Growing realization that she would have to leave all that she’d come to love behind to return to Theed, albeit in finer conditions than she’d last left it, upset her stomach.

With a heavy heart she resigned herself to seeking out Maz to speak of her return to the capital. After questioning a servant as to the housekeeper’s location, Rey located her in the laundry room beyond the kitchen. 

“-lace isn’t to be scrubbed, Eirtaé! Sponge it, don’t mop at it as if you’re scouring the floors!”

Rey withheld a wince at the upbraiding she overheard. She knew little of the laundress, only that she’d been hired in the past month to replace the elderly Mrs. Knabb. The blonde maid quickly dipped into a curtsy of respect at spotting the mistress of the house, thus diverting Maz’s attention. 

The housekeeper sighed, muttering under her breath about ‘new help’, before giving the maid one last look of reproach. She ushered Rey out of the room and into the hall.

“I’ve decided that I’ll leave for Theed as soon as can be managed,” Rey said with finality, ignoring the flip-flop of regret in her stomach. 

Maz nodded, understanding evident in her eyes. “That is most wise, child,” she murmured. “Most wise indeed.”

She straightened up as much as her diminutive stature would allow. “Then we must make preparations for you,” she continued. “There is someone you can stay with in Theed until proper accommodations can be acquired for you. I’d much rather you stay with her rather than at some godforsaken inn.”

An icy shiver danced down her back at the reminder of Plutt’s.

“I’ll see to writing a letter of introduction for you, as this woman was a dear friend of your grandfather. Most of the upper class will be enjoying their country retreats though she’ll most likely still be in the capitol. She’s very involved in politics, you see.”

“This woman knew my grandfather?” Rey asked, having caught onto her familial connection. If she knew of Obi-Wan, there was a great chance the woman knew of Rey’s parents. Maz spoke sparingly of them as did Mr. San Tekka in his letters. Rey longed to know more of the pair that she barely remembered.

“Mrs. Organa-Solo was a friend of Mr. Kenobi, yes,” Maz affirmed. “Both she and her husband. I am most certain they will be pleased to help you until you achieve accommodations of your own. We’ll send you off as soon as Dameron returns from acquiring the new broodmare.”

The housekeeper raised herself onto the tips of her toes in order to reach up to Rey. She placed one weathered hand on either side of the young woman’s face, a sympathetic smile lifting the corners of her lips.

“We’ll miss you, my dear. But you’ll be better off in Theed, at least until you’re married. Then we’ll see about your return.”

Rey tore her head back, out of Maz’s grip, at the unexpected response.

“What?” she questioned, the octave of her voice higher than usual in her bewilderment. “Married?”

Maz’s brow furrowed, only serving to add more wrinkles to her skin, at her charge’s astonishment.

“You were going to Theed initially for the Season, no? Any single woman of means is meant to find a husband during the Season. Once you do you can return. You’ll be of no use to the Gray if you’re married to a Mun.”

“I have to marry in order to come home?” Rey repeated, finding it difficult to comprehend.

Home; she certainly comprehend that word.

For the first time she referred to Stewjon as her ‘home’, for it certainly felt that way. The estate was hers, but that didn’t make it a home. The warmth of belonging, of getting to know a little about each person who worked on the land, made her inheritance a home. 

She was loathe to leave it as she was unable to recall ever having one before in her entire life.

“Perhaps Mrs. Organa-Solo could be your chaperone for the Season. I know Mr. San Tekka offered, but I think you might prefer her guidance instead. I’ll include that in my letter,” Maz said, giving the young woman a moment to take in all that she’d spoken of. 

“I’m sorry that this happened to you, Rey.”

The sincere apology drew Rey from her melancholic thoughts. Her eyes met those of the housekeeper behind the older woman’s austere spectacles. 

“It’s not fair,” Rey lamented softly, not caring the least how juvenile her protest sounded. None of what was occurring was fair; she didn’t want to be married yet, she didn’t want to be forced into some mythical world that was supposedly only in storybooks. 

Rey internally chastised herself for having believed that her life was, for once, turning up.

“Why don’t you start on your penmanship in the library while I see to the letter?” Maz coaxed the despondent young woman. “I’ll meet with your shortly for your lessons.”

The housekeeper’s attempt at keeping the status quo was well meant though Rey thought it to be useless. Life wasn’t going to be the same, after all.  
\---  
The day passed achingly slow as Rey went through the motions of a typical day at the estate. She forwent her evening ride as Poe was still away retrieving a new broodmare for the next breeding season. The thought of going out by herself into the surrounding forest was unwise, even if the fog was minimal. She wasn’t keen on running into the man that assumed them betrothed.

Three trunks were packed and waiting near the door to her room. All that remained was Poe’s return, as Maz explained she trusted no other to get her to Theed safely. 

Rey took her time in bathing and preparing for bed that evening in an event to delay sleep. For all her determination not to fall into Kylo’s hands, she was honestly concerned with how to avoid such a fate. Going to Theed would give her space, but until then she was essentially a sitting duck. It was with such a concern in mind that she traveled down to the storeroom to procure three bells and a length of twine. One of the maids spied her in the corridor with her loot, asking if she needed assistance with barely veiled curiosity. 

Having declined the servant’s aid, Rey returned to her room with her supplies. She secured the three bells to the three windows lining her bedroom’s far wall. She then stood back from her handiwork to appreciate the impromptu security system. If anyone was to open them, the bells would make noise which would then wake her. She was a light sleeper; the light tinkling would be enough.

Feeling slightly safer than before, Rey clambered into bed to attempt to rest. For a few hours she refused to close her eyes in the fear that the bells would not deter her nighttime assailant. To keep herself from dozing she lit a candle beside her bed to read from one of her beloved books of poetry. 

Yelling outside her window startled her awake in the wee hours of the morning.

“Kriff,” she cursed, caring little for her unladylike speech, at finding that she’d fallen asleep. She willed her slow limbs to work faster as she threw back her blankets to rise from bed. Rey stumbled toward the nearest window to find a group of grooms from the stable gathered around a gray horse in the stable yard. 

“Oh!”

She smiled widely once recognizing Poe’s horse. The gelding was a fine animal, one that any gentleman would be proud to own. His failure in mating led Poe to have him gelded, shifted from the life of a stallion to that of a mount. The obvious panic among the grooms, noticeable even from the distance of her window, had her smile faltering. Something was wrong.  
Where was Poe? 

The horse was skittering within the circle of men, reins hanging low. One of the younger grooms made a desperate grab for the leather only to have them ripped out of his hands with a mighty toss of the steed’s head. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach had her hastily moving from the window to her bedroom door. On the way she shrugged on her dressing gown that she’d thrown over the chair of her dressing table the night before.

She ran barefoot over the finely polished floors of the corridor, not caring a whit that her decorum was lacking. Maz could chide her later for it, as at the moment all she could think about was Poe’s whereabouts. The housekeeper was standing in the middle of the entrance hall alongside her husband, speaking in hushed terms when Rey scooted down the stairs.

Mr. Kanata spared her a quick bow of deference before exiting the house to the lawn.

“Where is Poe?” Rey asked hurriedly, slightly out of breath from her rapid flight.

Maz’s jaw looked as tight as her eyes as she turned to Rey.

“We’re not sure,” she admitted. “One of the stable boys came running up to the house only minutes ago to say that his horse came flying in without its rider.”

“Well, what are we going to do?! He could be out there somewhere, he could be in trouble-”

Rey paused her anxious speech at a hasty wave of Maz’s hand.

“Not here,” Maz tutted before taking the young woman’s hand. She led her into the sitting room and closed the door. 

“Do you think they did something to him?” Rey asked after a beat of silence, unable to withhold her fear any longer. She didn’t need to explain to Maz who ‘they’ were.

Maz’s hesitation fed into Rey’s anxiety about her friend. “I don’t know,” the old woman answered honestly. “There could be a number of reasons why he didn’t return.” She lowered herself into one of the plush chairs by the empty fireplace, staring into the hearth as if it would speak of Poe Dameron’s whereabouts. “Chewie is sending out a search party. They’ll canvas the area, even return to the farm Poe was purchasing the mare from.”

Rey had forgotten all about the broodmare that Poe had been tasked with acquiring. She was absent in the front yard, causing Rey to wonder what had happened to her.

“I can help,” she offered eagerly. “I can dress and go out on BB-8. The more riders we have out looking, the faster we’ll find him.”

Maz shook her head without a pause for thought. “Of course we cannot have you traipsing through the woods,” she tsked, a bit of her old self appearing. Her previous resigned state bespoke of her affection for the young man governing the stables. “My husband will send out enough men. We’ll find him.”

She reached a withered hand over to Rey’s arm, letting it rest upon the sleeve of her dressing gown.

“Don’t worry.”

Rey wished fervently that she could believe her.

\---

If she thought the hours passed slowly the day before, time appeared to creep even more lethargically while Rey awaited news of Poe. She pricked her fingers more times than she dared to count while in her needlework lessons, unable to concentrate on anything other than the well-being of her friend. For he was her friend; she’d never truly had one before, not even among the woman she’d worked with at Plutt’s. They’d simply worked with one another for survival, not out of kinship. 

When Maz had unexpectedly told her that she could return to Stewjon once married, and thus not viable for a bride for the Gray, she had half a mind to ask Poe if he’d take her. She didn’t love him beyond anything she assumed siblings felt for one another. Yet she knew that marriage, especially in the upper class that she now belonged to, did not often concern love. If she could find someone to form a camaraderie with she’d count herself as lucky.

As soon as the thought entered her mind it dissipated. It wouldn’t be fair for Poe to be tied to her, especially since he had more leeway in the option of a marriage for love. She wondered if he even meant to settle down with anyone as she’d never seen him with the maids or women from town. Then again she wasn’t at her friend’s side all day; he could sneak off at night to visit a lover for all she knew.

Shortly before dinner a maid fetched her from her room with the news that Poe had been retrieved and was in one of the guest rooms. Rey all but knocked over the poor woman in her haste to see to the well-being of her friend.

Her elation at knowing he was safe and sound quickly turned to anguish upon finally seeing him. Maz and her husband were crowded around the bedside with the town doctor standing near the opposite end. They were speaking in hushed voices over the man lying unconscious below them.

Rey crept toward the side of the bed to take in Poe’s state. A gash across his forehead was bound in a bandage, wrapped around his head. His left eye was stained with dark, swollen bruises; if he’d been awake, she was certain that he wouldn’t be able to open it. 

“What happened to him?” she asked, disrupting the whispered conversation around her.

The doctor’s lips pressed tightly together as he momentarily looked down at his patient.

“He was found unconsciousness a few hour’s ride away,” the physician explained. “It appears he was thrown from his horse and hit his head.”

Rey swallowed past the lump that was forming in her throat. “Do-do you know how much damage was wrought?” she asked. “If his head-”

She trailed off, too afraid to speak her fear.

Maz shifted her footing, catching Rey’s attention.

“There is a chance he will wake up,” she said, repeating the words the doctor had told herself and her husband minutes before Rey’s arrival. “But there is also a great chance that he won’t.” 

Rey inhaled a long, deep breath as she stared down at her friend. He looked as if he was simply sleeping, though he wasn’t truly. ‘Comatose’ is the word that came to mind, one she heard used when a man a few streets over from Plutt’s fell off his roof. He died within the week.

“What can we do to help him?” she asked, knowing that she would do all in her power to see that he was taken care of. 

“Someone will need to monitor him,” the doctor said as he closed up the leather satchel holding his tools. “Change his bandages from time to time, as well. There is little else that can be done except to wait.” He looked forlornly down at his patient, his expression doing nothing to discourage Rey’s fears. “The rest is in Mr. Dameron’s hands.”

\---

Poe lay unconscious for three days. During those three days, Rey insisted upon enlisting herself for the task of watching over his inert body. She shared shifts with a number of the servants, many who volunteered rather than be ordered to observe the comatose man. 

Despite being only a bed for those three days, Rey could already see a drastic change in the man’s physique. His face grew withdraw and angular, the hollows of his cheeks becoming notable. Unable to take food or drink, he would wind up wasting away before death claimed him. 

The evening of the third day of his confinement found Rey slumped in a chair that was drawn up to Poe’s bedside. Her favorite book of poetry lay in her lap, open on a verse she’d been reading aloud. She’d hoped that maybe he would react to a voice, perhaps able to hear though unable to speak. She hadn’t noticed so much as a twitch of his little finger.

Any thoughts of fleeing Stewjon were banished from her mind as she was unable to think of leaving her friend in need. She’d fight Kylo Ren with her bare hands if he thought she was to be dragged away from the bedside she was currently stationed at.

Mentally she cursed the ‘emperor’ and his ‘Force’. If she had the same mystical powers that he did, why couldn’t she use them to heal her friend? Foolishly she’d attempted to on the second night of her vigil, standing over Poe with her hands hovering over his head. She’d screwed her eyes closed tightly in an effort to concentrate on him healing. All it had done was give her a headache and a boatload of embarrassment.

“Mistress?”

She jolted, not realizing that she’d fallen asleep, at the sound of Eirtaé’s voice. The laundress was standing in the open doorway, a light shawl clutched about her shoulders. “I’ve come to relieve you, Miss. Kenobi,” she explained while stepping further into the room. 

Rey rubbed the sleep from her eyes before slowly standing. “You’ve been in my employ for a month or so, correct?” she questioned, surprising the maid. The blonde nodded, adding a belated curtsy.

“Have you had much contact with Mr. Dameron?”

Eirtaé shook her head, causing wisps of blonde hair that had fallen out of her bun to sway from the movement. “I haven’t, ma’am.

Rey adjusted the blanket across Poe’s waist for the umpteenth time that evening. “He is one of the kindest men I’ve ever known,” she shared. There were few men, or women, that she’d come across in her lifetime that were as genial as Poe. “He doesn’t deserve this, not in the least.”

Rey worried one of the dogeared edges of the book’s cover as she delayed returning to her room. It was near impossible to sleep while knowing he was teetering between life and death. Her greatest fear was that she wouldn’t be at his side if he passed into the next world.

 

“There may be a way, ma’am, to help your friend,” Eirtaé near whispered. 

“How?” Rey beseeched, unable to hide the desperation that tinged her tone. She rounded on the maid hastily.

“Someone I know has the ability to help your friend. If he tends to you, I know that Mr. Dameron will wake whole and healthy.” Seeing that she had Rey on tenterhooks, Eirtaé continued. “But he will demand a price.”

“Who?! Eirtaé, you must contact him! I-I can arrange for someone to fetch him-”

Rey placed her hand upon the woman’s arm, her grip vice-like in her eagerness.

“The Emperor will surely demand your hand in exchange for the life of your friend,” the Gray female said, placing her free hand upon Rey’s. 

Silence hung heavy between them as Rey understood what the woman spoke of. She took a hasty step back from the Force user, eyes blown wide in shock.

“What?”

Eirtaé refrained from speaking, instead choosing to watch as Rey staggered back to the chair she’d vacated earlier. Rey reached out for Poe’s hand, cold and limp in her warm one. Her thumb dragged over the back of his hand in small, soothing circles. The touch helped appease her more than it did him, as her path became clear in her mind’s eye.

“Can you send a message?” she asked, voice small and hushed. Rey felt as if she was miles away, watching the exchange between herself and the maid as an outsider. She took Eirtaé’s silence for agreement as she didn’t dare look up from Poe.

It was, after all, he who she was sacrificing her life for.

“Tell your ‘emperor’ I will become his wife, if he can save the life of this man.”

Already she could feel the cold, damp caves of the Gray enclose over her, snuffing out her inner light.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A year and a day later, we get another chapter. I haven't forgotten about this fic or my other historical one. I think about them a lot but, unfortunately, do not have the time to keep up with them regularly. Knowing that, it still gives me a thrill to see an alert in my inbox about a kudo or comment on one of my fics, though they haven't been updated recently. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com

Rey stepped into her bedchamber with a single minded purpose.  There was little time left, if the gilded clock on her bedside table was correct.  Eirtaé had promised an hour at the most before her master was to collect his bride.  She’d wasted precious moments in abject fear over her decision to essentially sacrifice herself for her friend.  No more time could be wasted.

 

She rifled through her wardrobe to locate a satchel of emerald colored velvet.  It was made from the scraps of Maz’s sewing basket, which the old housekeeper had given Rey leave to.  Mending tears and rips in the clothing of travelers at Plutt’s inn had offered her a quick chance at extra money, leading to her adequate skills with a needle.  Rey normally used the satchel to collect curiosities she found on the grounds; fallen petals and unique rocks mostly.  She kept her hoard in a tin box beneath her bed, hidden from the disapproving eyes of the staff.

 

Rey rooted for the aforementioned box beneath her bed and stuffed it into the satchel.  Her eyes quickly roamed the rest of her bedroom for any additional belongings she wished to smuggle with her into the unknown.  There was a great chance that her intended would simply snatch the sack of mementos away from her upon his arrival, though Rey knew she’d fight tooth and nail for the chance of remembering her old life.

 

For her new life had begun the moment she agreed to exchange her freedom for Poe’s life.

 

She settled on one of her favorite books of poetry that had become a constant fixture on her bedside table since arriving at Stewjon.  Her fingertips lovingly caressed the leather bound tome before slipping it into the satchel.  Her mother’s emerald bracelet joined the eclectic mix along with the hinged frames of her parents’ miniatures.  She paused in her hasty packing to gaze upon the two painted faces, presented to her shortly after her arrival at Stewjon.

 

Mr. San Tekka had told her little of her parents as he wasn’t privy to the reason that they fled from Stewjon.  Even Maz hadn’t provided much of an explanation.

 

The serene faces of Jinn and Elyse Kenobi disappeared into the darkness of the velvet bag.

 

Rey looked to the clock with panic, hoping that she still had time left to complete her final task.  Finding that she had only fifteen precious moments left, she set to work.  Her fingers failed to grasp the elegant stationery hiding in the drawer of her writing desk due to her haste.  The young woman let out an aggravated grunt before managing to grab multiple pages.  Somehow she managed to steady her hand enough to light the oil lamp situated on the desk with the candle she’d walked in with.  Her secretive flight from the manor would not be as discreet if she managed to light the place up.

 

Her pen flew across the pages of stationary as the seconds ticked by.  The cheery ticking of the clock pushed her faster and faster to write.  Her penmanship, so much improved under Maz’s lessons, looked something akin to the lines scratched into the dirt by the chickens Plutt once kept.

 

With the striking of the hour she finished her three letters.  Each was folded into a square with the recipient’s name scribbled across: Poe, Maz, and Mr. San Tekka.  Rey could hardly tell Poe and Mr. San Tekka where she was going, though she allowed Maz the truth of the matter.  Each letter thanked its recipient for the kindness shown to her.  She’d never forget any of them.

 

Rey stood from the desk as she massaged the writing cramp from her hand.  She gathered her satchel before giving her room one last glance.  She turned on her heel swiftly to avoid delaying her meeting with the emperor.  Hiding in her bedroom would not save Poe, nor would it prevent Kylo from simply dragging her out.  

 

Frightened as she was, Rey refused to allow Kylo to believe he won.  Yes, she was to depart the manor with him as his intended bride.  However, she was not being stolen away in the night as he’d attempted before.  She was willingly going in order to save a friend, not as a victim of his psychotic kidnapping scheme.

 

Belatedly she wished she’d taken the time to fix her appearance, as she was still wearing her clothing from the day and her hair was undoubtedly falling in wisps from her bun.  It would be easier to appear as if she was in control of the situation if she didn’t look as harried as she internally felt.

 

Her steps paused outside of Poe’s sick room, half expecting Kylo to be there waiting.  Instead she found the servant she’d requested to sit beside the groom’s bedside fast asleep.  Rey nearly chastised the young man for falling asleep whilst watching Poe when she took note of the peculiar slump of his body.  The man was not asleep, but unconscious.

 

Rey took a swift step backward only to collide with Eirtaé.  The brunette whirled around to face her, expecting the girl’s arrogant master, only to realize whom she’d walked into.  Her shoulders lowered fractionally in relief.

 

“His Imperial Highness will be here shortly, my lady,” she murmured with a deferential bow of her head.  

 

Rey was slowly becoming accustomed to the show of respect the household staff gave her, though this obeisance was unnerving.  

 

She settled for a curt nod before parking herself on the edge of Poe’s bed as her former seat was occupied by the unconscious servant.

 

“What did you do to him?” she asked, suspicion flashing in her eyes as her gaze shifted from the servant to Eirtaé.

 

The girl raised her hands, palms forward, in a show of innocence.  

 

“It was simply a mere suggestion of the Force, my lady.  Henry will wake once we take our leave.”

 

The mention of the mystical ability that Kylo claimed she had set goosebumps rising upon her skin.   She reached for Poe’s limp hand, gently enclosing it within her own.  The lack of reaction from her friend, normally so full of life, made her stomach clench uncomfortably.  

 

She was doing this all for Poe, she had to remember.  Not that he would ever know, as her note addressed to him in her bedroom merely thanked him for his friendship.  She could hardly explain to him the true nature of her disappearance.

 

Rey picked up her head to observe the three intruders of Poe’s sick room.  She hadn’t heard the three approach, too caught up in her concern for Poe.  The redheaded man she recognized as Mr. Hux, though she didn’t know the dark haired woman beside him.  Her intended husband was undoubtedly recognizable among his two companions.

 

Rey ignored Eirtaé’s deep curtsey to her sovereign in favor of sizing the emperor up.  She stood, dropping Poe’s hand with reluctance. 

 

“I need your word,” she uttered, forgoing pleasantries in her haste.  “That you’ll save him.  If you do, I’ll go with you as your….as your wife.”

 

To her credit her voice did not crack upon the offending word, though she feared it would.  She cleared her throat in an effort to regain her composure, so close was her facade of surety to breaking.  

 

Kylo placed a hand upon his heart and swept her a shallow bow.  “I assure you that your friend will be well,” he vowed upon straightening.  “As I promise I will hold you to your end of our arrangement.”

 

Slowly she unwound her trembling fists, having not realized that she’d balled her hands at her sides.  Rey gave a curt nod before stepping back from Poe’s bed to allow him to work.  To her surprise it was the strange female that stepped forward rather than Kylo.  As she passed Rey could see traces of gray peeking through the prim bun atop her head.  The stranger stood over Poe’s bedside and lowered her hands to his temples.

 

“I thought you were going to heal him?” she asked, scrutinizing Kylo across the bed.

 

Kylo shifted his attention from the woman to Rey with a raise of his brow.  “My skills at healing are….lacking, I suppose,” he admitted.  His confession led to a snort from his redheaded companion, which Kylo refused to acknowledge.  

 

“Healer Kalonia is the most talented of all our physicians.  I trust completely that she will see to your friend’s injury.”

 

Rey stared him down a moment longer, as if measuring him for a liar.  Kylo appeared unperturbed by her analysis.

 

Satisfied for the time being that he was being truthful, Rey averted her attention to her comatose friend.  She enveloped his hand in hers as she’d done before as she watched Kalonia wield the magical ability of the Force.  

 

Rey expected some showy light or some other type of visual spectacle to show that the Force was at work.  Instead she was treated to a bead of sweat forming on Kalonia’s brow and her deep look of concentration.

 

Rey felt the change in Poe in moments.  His hand, previously slack in her grip, momentarily flexed amongst her fingers.  She gasped aloud at the sudden change.  Eagerly she scanned his face for evidence of his regaining of consciousness.  She took note of the healthy tone of his skin, previously sallow, and grinned.  However, he stubbornly remained asleep.

 

“Why won’t he wake?” she inquired, instantly suspicious of the magical healing.

 

“He will momentarily, my lady,” the healer explained with a respectful tip of her head in Rey’s direction.  The show of respect unnerved the young woman as much as Eirtaé’s had.

 

“He will wake upon our safe return to the caves.  All will wake then.”

 

“All?” Rey queried, uncertainty painted across her face.

 

“The manor’s inhabitants are sleeping under the will of the Force, my lady,” the redhead interjected.  “We didn’t wish to encounter...complications this evening.”

 

Despite there being no one awake to stop Rey’s smuggling, Hux still appeared to be eager to leave.

 

“The sun will be up within the hour,” he reminded his sovereign.  “We’d best hurry.”

 

Kylo gave a curt nod which sent Hux striding from the room, presumably to see to their hobbled mounts outside.  

 

“Wait,” Rey insisted as she spied the emperor’s gloved hand reaching for her.  Hastily she leaned over Poe, drinking in a last look of her friend, before pressing a kiss to his forehead.  

 

“Goodbye,” she murmured to her first friend as she straightened up.

 

She ignored the eye roll delivered by Kylo as he led the way out of the room.  “We’ve tarried too long,” he explained, leading her through the quiet hall.  “It’s past time we go home.”

 

“Wherever you’re taking me will never be my home,” she spit in indignation.  “It’ll be nothing more than a jail cell!”

 

He turned so swiftly on his heel to face her that she nearly tumbled backward in alarm.

 

“Pardon me, Miss. Kenobi,” he began, his strained voice sending ice through her veins.  “But did I not just ensure the health of your dear ‘friend’?  Did you not willingly agree to be my wife in exchange for that man’s recovery?  Jail cell indeed!  Please spare me your self-pity as frankly it does not suit you.”

 

She blinked, utterly shocked at the verbal dressing down.  So shocked was she that he was then able to escort her to the waiting horses without further ado.  The cool night air that greeted them upon their exit of the manor aided in clearing her head.  Rey shifted her footing anxiously as Kylo hefted himself into the saddle.  Healer Kalonia took her satchel from her hand, murmuring assurance that she would adhere it to her saddle.

 

Once situated, Kylo reached for Rey, offering his arm.  An amused smirk rested upon his lips as he limb remained outstretched for her.  The young woman didn’t need to ask why he felt so delighted over the situation.  After all, they were simply back to where they’d started on that foggy day in the forest.  

 

“We could have saved so much time,” he commented, as if reading her thoughts.  Her cheeks flushed crimson with barely subdued annoyance as she accepted his arm.  Swung up into the saddle before him, Rey made a show of adjusting her skirt over her legs. Intended husband or not, she was hardly about to make a spectacle of herself before him.

 

She’d never ridden with another before, making her anticipate the journey as awkward.  She was saved from figuring what to do when Kylo wrapped his left arm about her waist as his right hand took up the reins.  Rey’s cheeks flushed further with a mixture of embarrassment and indignation over his familiarity, though she did not verbally protest as she was now secure upon the mount.

 

To her surprise Eirtaé emerged from the manor moments later.  It made sense, Rey supposed, that she was returning.  She served no further purpose at the manor now that she’d acted as the eyes and ears of the emperor.  Mr. Hux reached down to help her slight frame onto his horse.

 

With a strong squeeze of his legs, Kylo sent his horse cantering toward the tree line.  Rey turned her head to look past his shoulder at the fading view of Stewjon.  Though she’d not lived at the manor a year, she counted it as the only true home she’d ever had.  It broke her heart to leave it, and the people within it, behind.

The small group veered off the main path leading to the village within a few moments of riding.  She supposed they rode for around fifteen minutes before the path began growing rockier and more uneven than the previous terrain.  The trail they were taking inclined considerably, enough that Rey felt herself shift back against Kylo’s chest.  His arm was steady about her despite the considerable attention he was paying to guiding his horse forward.  

 

The sun was just peeking through the trees when the party of riders stopped before a large, jutting stone. Rey’s heart seemed to fall through her chest to the pit of her stomach once she realized that the obstacle before them was not simply a stone, but a cave.

 

She’d never seen a cave before in her life, though the gaping hole in the stone before her was undoubtedly one.  Since learning of the emperor’s wish for her, she’d been unable to stop wondering what it would be like inside the stone.  Would it be cold and damp?  Warm and humid?  Would the darkness lay over her like a blanket, threatening to suffocate her?

 

She’d find out soon enough, as Kylo urged his horse forward to the mouth of the cave.  She craned her neck in order to see the stone ceiling above them, noting that it was higher than she expected.  Kylo, as tall as he was, did not have to duck while astride his horse to avoid scraping the top of his head.

 

The deeper they went into the cave, the darker it became.  The sunlight grew in strength beyond the mouth of the cave though it could not permeate within the stone walls.

 

Finally, the group stopped at a point in the stone wall of the cave that extended a few inches from the wall.  Kylo raised his hand, flicking aside his fingers as if he was merely dusting off dirt.  The stone slab moved aside with a rumble to allow them passage.  

 

Terror choked her, making the scream she wished to utter impossible.

 

Rey was struck silent as the group stepped through the hidden hole into the unknown. 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another irregularly scheduled update! There are very minor spoilers for The Last Jedi in this chapter. If you haven't seen the film, it won't matter. 
> 
> Thanks to leialovesdarcy for putting up with my random questions!
> 
> I've included a play on a quote from the source novel which theauthorformallyknownashobbitbabe suggested when I posted the fourth chapter. Thank you!

Rey wasn’t one to feel claustrophobic, but the darkness of the tunnel was encompassing. It pressed down at her from all sides, leaving her blind and unaware of her surroundings. The only way she could tell she was still moving was by the soft swaying of the horse beneath her. 

As suddenly as the darkness overtook the small group, light replaced it.

A burst of light illuminated the passage. She blinked against the light, duller than she initially thought as she grew closer to the source. The crystals that jutted out of the side of the rock wall nearest to her left glowed with a soft light which illuminated the tunnel enough for the traveling party to make their way to the unknown.

The light, although not bright, was enough to expose the peculiar color of the cave walls.

Her breath left her in an audible gasp at the sight of the red stains. Upon closer inspection she realized the entirety of the tunnel was red. The color-too similar to the hue of blood-set her stomach rolling.

“Crait is mostly composed of salt deposits,” the man before her explained, guessing as to her shocked inhale. “The color is….peculiar, but one gets used to it.”

Rey failed to repress a shudder as she averted her gaze to his back. Her hands must have tightened upon his belt, as she felt one of his gloved ones idly pat her iron grip. She nearly withdrew her hands in pettiness.

A bend in the tunnel had them moving northward. The next expanse was lit as the first, with an unearthly glow from the crystals..

“But what about-”

If the tunnel had shocked her, the cavern left her speechless.

The end of the tunnel opened to an area far larger than she would’ve ever expected. She’d spent some time wondering what the secret hideaway of the Gray looked like after her last brush with Kylo in her bedroom. She’d imagined an area roughly the size of Stewjon’s dining room, filled with haggard looking Force users.

This was nearly a city.

It was as if someone had taken a portion of Theed and dropped it into the cavern below the traveling party. It was nowhere near as big as the capital, although it was considerably larger than meager Moenia. Small buildings similar to those that had been erected upon the same street as Plutt’s dominated much of the layout. The structures grew larger leading up to the most impressive of all: the palace. Seemingly carved into the very stone of the cave, the palace loomed eerily in the distance. 

Her stomach dropped as Rey realized that was their destination.

There was no sunlight, Rey noted, as they journeyed onward. The only light came from more of the peculiar crystals and lit torches. It was no wonder, then, why the Gray only ventured outside the caves when it was foggy. She imagined the glare of natural light would be utterly unforgiving to their eyes.

The city was slowly coming awake as they wound their way through the streets. Those that exited their homes to open shop windows and begin daily chore stopped in their tracks at the sight of their emperor. Without hesitation they bowed or bobbed curtsies. More than one extended the same courtesy to her, which left her feeling just as uncomfortable as when Eirtaé did so earlier in the evening.

Anger burned fiercely in her chest the closer they drew to the palace. None that they passed batted an eye at the sight of her sitting pillion with Kylo. Did all the Gray know of what the emperor had been planning? 

It felt as if she was the last to be let in on a terribly insulting joke.

They were greeted at the steps of the palace by three strangers. Two of the men were dressed in such a fashion that Rey assumed them to be stable hands. The third appeared to be dressed in something akin to a military uniform. Her hesitation in deducing that the third man was a soldier was due to the utter lack of weapons one could spot upon him. 

All three bowed their heads as Kylo halted his horse. The dark skinned soldier spared her a quick peek from the corner of his eyes. He caught her gaze, flushed, and quickly averted his gaze to the red tinted floor. 

Kylo dismounted and, before Rey had the chance to do the same, offered his hands to her. She supposed touching him was slightly more bearable than stumbling to the ground. Rey’s fingertips barely touched his leather encased digits as she alighted from the mount. 

Her legs wobbled once her feet touched the ground. Rey hadn’t noticed how utterly exhausted she was until given the chance to stand. She supposed the sleepless night she’d endured plus the emotional trauma of her bargain warranted such fatigue.

“Eirtaé will show you to your quarters,” Kylo said, astutely picking up on her lack of energy. His head bowed, treating her to a brief flash of the top of his inky colored hair. His lips brushed warmly against the knuckles of her right hand before taking his leave of her.

She stood dumbfounded, ignoring the sound of Hux speaking to the soldier behind her or the absence of Miss. Chroma. 

“My lady?”

She jolted in surprise at hearing Eirtaé’s voice so close to her. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

“If you’d follow me, my lady,” the maidservant suggested. She began mounting the steps up to the entrance of the palace.

Rey nearly planted her feet in a childish show of defiance though she quickly thought better of it. She didn’t need to make a spectacle of herself before these strangers, even if she was brimming with anger toward their leader.

Begrudgingly she trudged up the stairs after the maid while ignoring how the open door looked like a gaping wound among the walls of red salt.

If the sight of the city surprised her, the interior of the palace only shocked her further.

She’d never been inside Queen Jamillia’s palace in Theed, although she imagined it must look something similar to the Gray emperor’s palace. Thick tapestries and skillfully painted portraits lined the walls of the entrance hall. They successfully hid the blood red of the salt which gave the room the appearance of being somewhere far different than Crait. 

The floor, uncovered, shone bright red. It seemed paltry in comparison to the tapestries and paintings that adorned the hall. 

“This way, my lady,” Eirtaé prompted, already half a dozen feet ahead of Rey.

The young woman ceased her gawking to hurry after the maidservant; the last thing she wanted was to get lost in the unfamiliar place. Rey trooped up a flight of steps after Eirtaé, who dutifully paused to wait for her mistress.

As Rey followed the woman down various halls, she tried to take note of the direction they were going. After a time she lost track of the lefts and rights taken. What use was it, to recall how to get back to the exit of the palace? She could hardly stroll out the front door and make her way back to the mouth of the cave. The heavy stone slab that Kylo had effortlessly brushed aside would prove to be a formidable obstacle. 

Even if she had been able to tap into the absurd power that he claimed she had, Rey knew that she couldn’t leave. She’d been a bargain for Poe’s life, fully knowing the consequences of her actions. For her friend’s safety she would soldier on. 

Rey paused before a painting in a gilded frame a few feet behind Eirtaé. There were many such frames lining the corridor, each depicting different women dressed in opulent fashions. The sitter’s clothing was roughly sixty years out of style.

“Is this Padmé ?” she asked, causing the handmaiden to pause. “Padmé Naberrie?”

“It is a painting of the late empress, yes,” Eirtaé confirmed as she came to stand at Rey’s elbow.

“She was quite beautiful, wasn’t she?”

The woman’s gaze was serene; far from the looming panic in Rey’s eyes. The empress was painted standing before an open window with a garden visible beyond. In her hand was placed a rose, held nimbly between her delicate looking thumb and fingers.

“Yes, quite beautiful,” Rey echoed. She paused for a moment more, wondering how the woman that Pooja had described looked so utterly content in the painting. 

Reluctantly she resumed walking after Eirtaé only to nearly trod upon the back of the woman’s shoes as she abruptly stopped. Eirtaé opened a door to their right before ushering Rey inside. 

Rey was greeted with the sight of a sitting room that looked incredibly out of place among the red salt walls and floor. Expensive rugs covered most of the floor though the unforgiving scarlet peeked out more than she would’ve liked. 

Two doors were situated in the room besides the one that both women had walked through. Eirtaé led her to the furthest, which opened into a bedchamber. It was far more opulent than the bedroom she’d had at Stewjon, which she’d thought had been fit for royalty. Her shared room at Plutt’s looked like a broom closet compared to this chamber.

“No one has lived in these rooms for quite some time,” Eriate explained as Rey strayed further into the chamber. 

“I’m sure His Imperial Highness would want you to make them comfortable as to your tastes. After the wedding I can help you, if you desire my assistance.”

The reminder of her end of the bargain halted Rey in her perusal of the room.

“The wedding,” she said dumbly. “When is that to be?” 

“This evening,” the maid responded. “The seamstresses should be finished with your gown by now. His Imperial Highness made the order weeks ago.”

Rey gripped the bedpost tightly, having strayed to the comfortable looking bed, in an effort not to scream.

He’d been planning this for months? His arrogance in thinking she’d accept him enraged her more than it frightened her.

“Leave me, please,” she mumbled, her shoulders hunched as she turned away from Eirtaé. 

The maid must’ve bobbed a curtsy as Rey heard the tell-tale rustle of fabric. Only when the door closed did Rey allow herself to relax. 

The call of the soft looking bed was more than she could handle in her exhausted state. Rey clambered onto it before sinking down onto her side. She faced the door, as if expecting one of the Gray to come rushing in at any moment. 

Without any effort she slipped into sleep.

\----------

The sound of the door opening startled her from her sleep. Hastily she rose up onto her forearm only to find Kylo standing in the doorway. 

“I hope you’re feeling refreshed,” he commented as he stepped further into the room. He nonchalantly took a seat upon the edge of her bed. “You slept for nearly seven hours.”

As Rey pushed herself into a sitting position, it was then that she realized that Kylo had a wooden case resting in his lap. He must’ve realized her notice as he unlatched the case to reveal its contents to her.

The sight within took her breath away. Even the dull glow of the gas lamps didn’t diminish the glimmer of the diamond parure within the case. 

“I’d hoped you wear this later,”he began as he took out the pair of diamond earings of the parure. “I was going to show you some of my grandmother's pieces and save these for another date, but I couldn’t help myself.”

He placed the earrings in her hand, having taken it from her side to deposit the jewels within it. Despite Kylo being the one to give it to her, Rey couldn’t help but be in awe of the diamonds weighing down her hand.

She was unaware of the cut or the karat of the gems, though that hardly mattered. The beauty of the piece spoke for itself.

“I...I can’t wear this,” she said, hastily shoving her hand back at him in the hope he would relieve her of her newfound riches.

“It’s…..”

“If it isn’t to your taste, I can have the jeweler bring up some other pieces,” he insisted. Kylo took the earrings from her and gently returned them to their velvet holding. 

“I know it may be overwhelming but-”

He watched her eyes rove over the contents of the case, taking in the matching tiara and necklace within. The diamond stars of the tiara and necklace would look stunning against her creamy skin and dark hair, he was certain.

Instead of awe, panic seemed to reign in her expression.

Quickly he shifted gears as he closed the case.

“I know the night we last spoke was rather harrowing for you, so I forgive your possible lapse in memory. Do you remember what the Gray are, Rey?”

It was as if he’d flung cold water over her. Hastily she regained her composure.

“Something rude,” she snapped as she slid off the bed. 

“And selfish, and-”

“Selfish? What have I done that has been selfish?” he interjected.

Rey gaped at him, wondering if he was toying with her or legitimately wounded by her insult.

She sputtered a moment before answering. “Ripping me from my home and all that I hold dear all for you is the height of selfishness!”

Kylo sighed as he stood from the bed as well. 

“You’ve been given a great gift,” he said while tucking the case beneath his arm. He gestured to the box with his free hand. “I’m not talking about this,” he explained, having caught her shifting gaze to the box. “Your ability to wield the Force is what I speak of.”

“If you’d continued your meager existence in Moenia you would’ve wasted everything. It’s a miracle that I came across you, not only for yourself but for the rest of the Gray.”

She simmered, watching his ridiculously long legs eat the distance from her bed to the door.

“Eirtaé will be back shortly to help you dress. I will see you at the ceremony.”

Without casting her a second glance, he left her to stew in her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Follow me at http://beyond-this-illusion.tumblr.com/. 
> 
> Diamond Parure: http://www.thecourtjeweller.com/2017/06/reader-mailbag-major-sparkle-at.html#more
> 
>  
> 
> “”Just what is a goblin?” he prompted the confused Kate. She rallied before he could make fun of her. “Something rude,” she stated emphatically. He was helpless with laughter.  
> “Oh, Kate, I do like you,” he confessed. “You’re a welcome surprise.”  
> -Chapter 3


End file.
